7 ms·

I think this is the money quote: "During the Government’s investigation, which was conducted jointly by the FBI and HSI, an HSI agent acting in an undercover c

I think this is the money quote: "During the Government’s investigation, which was conducted jointly by the FBI and HSI, an HSI agent acting in an undercover capacity (the “HSI-UC”) successfully infiltrated the support staff involved in the administration of the Silk Road 2.0 website, and was given access to private, restricted areas of the site reserved for BENTHALL and his administrative staff. By doing so, the HSI-UC was able to interact directly with BENTHALL throughout his operation of the website." So I assume this means they were able to infiltrate the community and there was possibly no unauthorized break necessary on the actual technology stack. It does lead one to question how they drew the final line between Benthall and his online persona, unless the undercover agent was also given access to financial information or other personally identifiable info. Maybe they even placed a malicious program on the server to target Benthall after they had control of a support backend. Interesting to see if that is all that comes out....

MrDrone 12y ago
Its been hinted that they'll be busting other Tor marketplaces in the next day or so. I wonder if they were similarly infiltrated and what effect that will have on the community.
- psykovsky 12y ago
  On the community I have no idea, but I imagine the next reincarnation of these type of markets will have to be managed by lone wolfs out of a cave in Afghanistan.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - nyolfen 12y ago
    in all seriousness perhaps iranian hosts would be a viable route
    - duaneb 12y ago
      In all seriousness, is there any legal precedent for seizing/shooting down satellites?
      - anigbrowl 12y ago
        Space law tends to be extrapolated from maritime law as many of the legal condundrums are similar. So if you had a pirate satellite then it could probably be seized under a letter of marque. It's a fun question, I'll look into it.
    - shitehawk 12y ago
      I am not sure you want to stare down the Iranian justice system.
      - chatmasta 12y ago
        The US would never extradite to Iran, so unless you are so desperate to open a "dark net market" that you move to Iran, you will stare down the US justice system, not the Iranian tribunals.
      - opendais 12y ago
        If you don't live in Iran, staring down the Iranian justice system [given the lack of love other nations have for them] is pretty easy. Tbh tho, I wouldn't be surprised if you setup an Iranian site that you weren't accused of "funding terrorist operations" and the trial gets replaced with a US drone strike.
        et2o 12y ago
        To my knowledge, there have not been any drone missile strikes in Iran. That would likely constitute an act of war. Iran did shoot down a spy drone back in 2011. Point taken, though.
        opendais 12y ago
- jacobwcarlson 12y ago
  Cloud9 and Hydra are now displaying seizure notices as well.
  - psykovsky 12y ago
    Perfect cover to run away with everyones funds :)
    - puredemo 12y ago
      Apparently Cloud9 went down four minutes before SR2. So it's unlikely to be a false flag.
      - psykovsky 12y ago
        Yes, it seems the feds had a blast, taking down darknet markets.
- anonDNMuser 12y ago
  They've already busted a few other markets. Currently Hydra, Cloud 9, and SR2 all show seizure notices when visited. The largest two markets, Agora and Evolution, are surprisingly both going strong right now. dnstats.net keeps track of markets uptime. You can use the website to watch for other markets that may fall.
- crazypyro 12y ago
  Or maybe someone is trying to get out of the market and pocket all of the wallet funds sitting on another marketplace. Seriously, if you were running a Tor marketplace and one of your competitors goes down, it is a perfect cover for running away with everyone's bitcoins and disappearing.
deathhand 12y ago
"successfully infiltrated the support staff" - This doesn't rule out that they didn't sniff out their credentials and logged in as them.
chatmasta 12y ago
This sounds no different than the undercover police, detective work the FBI has been doing since its establishment. Infiltrate the perp, take him down. They used the same tactics on gangs, mobs, etc. Now violent crime is slowing, but they have hoardes of agents trained in these protocols, so they're redirecting energy into catching so called "cybercriminals." A bunch of people who infiltrated the mob are now infitrating groups of nerds in basements. It's frustratingly hilarious. By the way: If the FBI is so successful using traditional police tactics to infiltrate "cybercrime syndicates," why do they need a "front door" to our devices?
- higherpurpose 12y ago
  Unless that's what they want us to think. If it was just this undercover agent, how did they shut down the other unrelated markets? I think we've learned from the Dread Pirate Roberts case that what FBI says they did to catch these guys is a lie. They caught them some other way - either in an illegal way or through some method they intend to use in the future and don't want to disclose now. Either way, chances are it didn't happen the way they say it did.
  - chatmasta 12y ago
    Or, they just executed the same plan repeatedly. Clearly most people opening these markets are not as smart as they think they are. I would not be surprised if undercover police tactics succeeded across multiple markets, and the FBI simply timed the shutdowns to coincide. In fact I remember reading an interview with a market founder in cryptonews, where he mentioned the difficulty in finding and trusting support staff. That's all the more reason to listen when the FBI comes knocking, asking to help with support.
- sliverstorm 12y ago
  A bunch of people who infiltrated the mob are now infitrating groups of nerds in basements. It's frustratingly hilarious. Why? Generally speaking, crime is crime, whether or not you wear a trenchcoat & fedora. There is perhaps some humor in operatives who went up against the mob now going after small fish which must seem like easy pickings to them, but it's the "frustrating" part that I don't follow.
s_q_b 12y ago
This implies an agent established a direct connection to a server in Benthall's C&C chain. Once there, they simple hacked (or subpoena or Mutual Legal Assistance Treatied) their way back to him.

MrDrone 12y ago

Its been hinted that they'll be busting other Tor marketplaces in the next day or so. I wonder if they were similarly infiltrated and what effect that will have on the community.

psykovsky 12y ago
On the community I have no idea, but I imagine the next reincarnation of these type of markets will have to be managed by lone wolfs out of a cave in Afghanistan.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- nyolfen 12y ago
  in all seriousness perhaps iranian hosts would be a viable route
  - duaneb 12y ago
    In all seriousness, is there any legal precedent for seizing/shooting down satellites?
    - anigbrowl 12y ago
      Space law tends to be extrapolated from maritime law as many of the legal condundrums are similar. So if you had a pirate satellite then it could probably be seized under a letter of marque. It's a fun question, I'll look into it.
  - shitehawk 12y ago
    I am not sure you want to stare down the Iranian justice system.
    - chatmasta 12y ago
      The US would never extradite to Iran, so unless you are so desperate to open a "dark net market" that you move to Iran, you will stare down the US justice system, not the Iranian tribunals.
    - opendais 12y ago
      If you don't live in Iran, staring down the Iranian justice system [given the lack of love other nations have for them] is pretty easy. Tbh tho, I wouldn't be surprised if you setup an Iranian site that you weren't accused of "funding terrorist operations" and the trial gets replaced with a US drone strike.
      - et2o 12y ago
        To my knowledge, there have not been any drone missile strikes in Iran. That would likely constitute an act of war. Iran did shoot down a spy drone back in 2011. Point taken, though.
        opendais 12y ago
jacobwcarlson 12y ago
Cloud9 and Hydra are now displaying seizure notices as well.
- psykovsky 12y ago
  Perfect cover to run away with everyones funds :)
  - puredemo 12y ago
    Apparently Cloud9 went down four minutes before SR2. So it's unlikely to be a false flag.
    - psykovsky 12y ago
      Yes, it seems the feds had a blast, taking down darknet markets.
anonDNMuser 12y ago
They've already busted a few other markets. Currently Hydra, Cloud 9, and SR2 all show seizure notices when visited. The largest two markets, Agora and Evolution, are surprisingly both going strong right now. dnstats.net keeps track of markets uptime. You can use the website to watch for other markets that may fall.
crazypyro 12y ago
Or maybe someone is trying to get out of the market and pocket all of the wallet funds sitting on another marketplace. Seriously, if you were running a Tor marketplace and one of your competitors goes down, it is a perfect cover for running away with everyone's bitcoins and disappearing.

deathhand 12y ago

"successfully infiltrated the support staff" - This doesn't rule out that they didn't sniff out their credentials and logged in as them.

chatmasta 12y ago

This sounds no different than the undercover police, detective work the FBI has been doing since its establishment. Infiltrate the perp, take him down. They used the same tactics on gangs, mobs, etc. Now violent crime is slowing, but they have hoardes of agents trained in these protocols, so they're redirecting energy into catching so called "cybercriminals." A bunch of people who infiltrated the mob are now infitrating groups of nerds in basements. It's frustratingly hilarious. By the way: If the FBI is so successful using traditional police tactics to infiltrate "cybercrime syndicates," why do they need a "front door" to our devices?

higherpurpose 12y ago
Unless that's what they want us to think. If it was just this undercover agent, how did they shut down the other unrelated markets? I think we've learned from the Dread Pirate Roberts case that what FBI says they did to catch these guys is a lie. They caught them some other way - either in an illegal way or through some method they intend to use in the future and don't want to disclose now. Either way, chances are it didn't happen the way they say it did.
- chatmasta 12y ago
  Or, they just executed the same plan repeatedly. Clearly most people opening these markets are not as smart as they think they are. I would not be surprised if undercover police tactics succeeded across multiple markets, and the FBI simply timed the shutdowns to coincide. In fact I remember reading an interview with a market founder in cryptonews, where he mentioned the difficulty in finding and trusting support staff. That's all the more reason to listen when the FBI comes knocking, asking to help with support.
sliverstorm 12y ago
A bunch of people who infiltrated the mob are now infitrating groups of nerds in basements. It's frustratingly hilarious. Why? Generally speaking, crime is crime, whether or not you wear a trenchcoat & fedora. There is perhaps some humor in operatives who went up against the mob now going after small fish which must seem like easy pickings to them, but it's the "frustrating" part that I don't follow.

s_q_b 12y ago

This implies an agent established a direct connection to a server in Benthall's C&C chain. Once there, they simple hacked (or subpoena or Mutual Legal Assistance Treatied) their way back to him.