US Justice Department Shuts Down The Alphabay Dark Web Marketplace

The Justice Department declared that it has successfully shut down the illegal Internet marketplace for firearms, fake documents, and drugs, in what Jeff Sessions, the Attorney General, said was the “biggest dark Web putdown in the world history.” Yes, the dark web’s site, AlphaBay, is where users with masked identities could involve in substantial selling and buying of illegal goods.

As claimed by the staff member of AlphaBay, it serviced more than 40,000 vendors & 200,000 users; and during its takedown time, there were above 250,000 lists for illicit toxic chemicals and drugs and above 100,000 lists for stolen and deceitful identification papers and access devices, malware, counterfeit goods, and other computer-hacking devices, firearms, and duplicitous services.

Apart from taking hold of the infrastructure of AlphaBay, prosecuting attorney indicted Alexandre Cazes, the founder of AlphaBay, with offenses including conspiracy to involve in racketeering and dispensing narcotics. Even though the marketplace may have been slightly recognized outside the dark web’s shadowy world, officers said it created real-world outcomes. The investigators came across cases in which drugs bought on AlphaBay caused deaths owing to overdose, according to Sessions. He said they discovered 122 vendors marketing fentanyl and 238 marketing heroin on the site.

Sessions said, “It is referred dark not merely as these sites are deliberately concealed. It is also dark for the reason of what is vended on several of them.” An alike online drug marketplace, Silk Road, was shuttered by the Federal Authorities in 2013. Ross Ulbricht, its founder, was condemned to life imprisonment in 2015. Andrew McCabe, performing FBI director, said AlphaBay was approximately 10x the magnitude of that marketplace.

The US authorities said they functioned with law enforcement in numerous other countries, comprising the Netherlands, Thailand, Canada, Lithuania, France, and the United Kingdom, to defeat AlphaBay. They said, their struggles concurred with Dutch authorities that took down another illegal online market, called as Hansa Market.

Though the authorities emphasized that the shutdown was noteworthy, they also recognized that other illegitimate online covered market would move or emerge in to take its place. The US officers said they are attentive of and probing several facilities for secret online dealings of unlawful goods and drugs.

Similar to AlphaBay, the facilities also function on the dark web, which is an assembly of websites accessible only with the use of certain services to assist hide the identities of the users. AlphaBay functioned on what is called as the Tor network, wherein data retrieved through a browser is delivered via manifold relays, covering IP address of a user. Transactions were directed with the use digital currency and the market took a cut of the earnings when the transactions were completed.

We hope the officials continue to do such works and bring the dark market to an end.

About: Ankit Kadam

Author & Contributor As one of the lead news writers on Share Tech News, Ankit’s specialization lies in the science and technology domains. His passion for the latest developments in cloud technology, connected devices, nanotechnology, and virtual reality, among others, shines through in the most recent industry coverage he provides. Ankit’s take on the impact of digital technologies across the Smartphones, Software & Android/iOS Apps domains gives his writing a fresh and modern outlook.