Crypto-laundering threat actors specialize in stealing and hiding the origins of their cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking involves secretly mining for cryptocurrency via the victim’s device. The dark web is a portion of the Internet that is inaccessible to normal search engines. From the rise of AI-driven cybercrime to growing global crackdowns, this blog explores the key players, emerging trends, and what businesses and individuals should prepare for in the year ahead. Cybersecurity experts should pay close attention to these trends, as they often indicate emerging threats and profit-generating tactics among the cybercriminal forums. It has a bidding feature, with new batches of stolen data being frequently added.
Patient Stabbed At Manitoba Hospital: RCMP
And despite being in psychiatric treatment, Marie didn’t feel as if she were improving. Det Supt Shields says around 80% of organised crime in Northern Ireland relates to drugs and that criminals were increasingly using the internet to make money. District Court here today to running a dark web narcotics conspiracy that moved hundreds of kilograms and tens of thousands of pills of controlled substances throughout the United States and established a multi-million-dollar drug enterprise. According to the DEA, this case involves the largest single cryptocurrency and cash seizure in DEA history; the defendant has forfeited cryptocurrency accounts that ultimately became worth $150 million.

Arizona School District Data Breach

For a local machine configuration, he recommends a computer purchased for cash running Linux, using a local Tor transparent proxy. For operations security he suggests avoiding storing conversation logs, varying writing styles, avoiding mobile phone-based tracking and leaking false personal details to further obfuscate one’s identity. So, as the darkweb merry-go-round cranks up once more, the FBI and Interpol are still claiming to have ended online drug dealing. But their expensive campaigns are no more effective than a traditional shakedown on a bunch of dealers on one street corner in one city.
Useful Tools
In Grand Theft Auto Online, players who purchase warehouses and garages for illicit cargo and stolen cars can buy/steal and sell them through trade on the “SecuroServ” syndicate website. After the Biker DLC, players can now purchase buildings for illegal drugs and counterfeit products manufacture, and distribute them through a darknet website called “The Open Road” where law enforcement cannot be notified of the player’s trade. Major drug markets in the Dark Web are now worth around $315 million annually according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
Pfizer Agrees To Lower Prescription Drug Costs For Medicaid In A Deal With Trump

Their tools often spread through phishing campaigns or compromised software downloads, enabling crimes such as identity theft. Classic darknet markets sell diverse illegal goods; data stores focus on leaked or stolen data like credentials, databases, and ID records. Launched in 2023, STYX focuses on financial crime, providing stolen credit card data, hacked bank accounts and access to various cryptocurrency laundering tools. The story of dark web marketplaces kicks off with Silk Road, launched in 2011.
- Often, a case may come down to human errors, such as a site operator accidentally disclosing their personal email address in communications.
- Cybersecurity and technology analyst Ritesh Kotak, who also started in policing, says the network taken down by the RCMP-led investigation is likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illicit activity on the dark web.
- A joint investigation by BBC Spotlight and Panorama has also examined links between international cartels and a 2.2 tonne shipment of cocaine found on board the MV Matthew cargo ship off the Irish coast in 2023.
- When it comes to prescription drugs, however, pharmacist Ann Marie Horan points out that “you really don’t know what you’re getting”.
- Asking the “right way,” according to Barratt, should yield enough information about the source of the substance to understand what type of risk it poses to the community if it turns out to be adulterated.
Reporting Countries

Known for its publicity stunt releasing millions of stolen card details for free, BidenCash specializes in credit card fraud and identity theft. From state-sponsored groups to ransomware gangs, criminal activity is innovating at a rapid pace on the dark web. Businesses must stay vigilant and proactive in addressing these threats, using tools like CybelAngel to monitor dark web activity and protect their assets. Cybersecurity tools like CybelAngel’s external attack management (EASM) platform can help businesses monitor the dark web effectively.
UK’s First Nitazene Drug Lab Found In Ayrshire, Police Board Told
Among the evidence found were communications from at least 19 email addresses tied to dark web transactions controlled by Singh. This criminal enterprise generated millions of dollars in profits, which were laundered through cryptocurrency accounts. He sent large packages also to the United States through US mail or other shipping services. Banmeet Singh, a 40-year-old from India has been sentenced to five years in a US prison for running a dark web drug empire.

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Hilliard man is charged with trafficking in fentanyl that caused at least one overdose death. Mr Guerin submitted that O’Connor had a drug dependency at the time but was now clean and had a “bright future” in the film industry. The detective sergeant agreed with Michael O’Higgins SC, defending Mannion, that it was not difficult to access the dark net and anyone who was a “little tech-savvy” would be able to do so.
Cryptocurrency Threat Actors
I was in a great job at the time, but the place closed down in my town, and moved off to another site and I got a lump sum. My first venture into the dark web begins, as all internet searches do, on Google. But the slowdown in the trade in sedatives coincided with significant growth in the trade in the trade in steroids on both the surface and the dark web. Between 2015 and 2016, the number of anabolic steroids seized increased from under 40,000 to over 100,000 units. Gabriela Silva Ponte has been with CBC Toronto Local News since January 2025, at first in an internship capacity and afterwards as an Editorial Assistant.
The dark web, on the other hand, is a small part of the deep web that requires special tools like the Tor browser to access. Ransomware gangs are also expected to diversify their tactics, targeting smaller companies and individual users to maximize their reach. Businesses should prepare for more sophisticated ransomware campaigns, potentially leveraging AI to exploit security gaps.
- It means buyers and sellers in all of the shady marketplaces are anonymous, their identities and locations concealed not only from each other but also from international law enforcement.
- The months and years after Silk Road’s closure were marked by a greatly increased number of shorter-lived markets as well as semi-regular law enforcement takedowns, hacks, scams and voluntary closures.
- If you need a way to organize as an activist or you want to discuss censored topics with others, my first suggestion is to stick to offline meetups.
- However, this will likely lead to the rise of new, decentralized groups like RansomHub.
Contrary to popular belief, making a loved one become abstinent (even if you can) won’t cure the underlying issues that may have led them to use in the first place. For people who use opioids, it also increases their risk of overdose when they resume use with lower tolerance. Vendors with higher feedback ratings can get away with asking for “early finalization.” This system (along with the reviews and forums) incentivizes them to sell what they say they’re selling; ripping people off has consequences. “We haven’t taken our eye off the ball in relation to drugs and we have still had a number of successful operations in recent weeks.”
She said he has “overcome his dependency on cannabis and excelled academically”. The judge said it was clear from the evidence that the offending coincided with a particularly low point in his life and an overall deterioration of his well-being, which had led to heavy use of cannabis. He also pleaded guilty to possession of cannabis and ketamine for sale or supply at the same address on the same date. It appears you are attempting to access this website from a country outside of the United States, therefore access cannot be granted at this time. Of course you must have your drugs delivered, and there is no way to do this other than specify an address. If a preferred vendor is out of stock you can set an alarm that notifies you when the goods are available again.
CopyCop Deepens Its Playbook With New Websites And Targets
Police said they also executed several search warrants that led to the seizure of 75 kilograms of narcotics, drug distribution materials, 10,000 prescription and non-prescription pills, among other items. Mark Kennedy, head of residential and counselling services at the Merchant’s Quay project, says “steroid users would now account for around 350 individuals accessing our services”. The 2015 National Student Drug Survey found that 82 per cent of students had tried illegal drugs – 18 per cent bought them on the internet and 4.5 per cent “usually” got them on the darknet. Cybersecurity and technology analyst Ritesh Kotak, who also started in policing, says the network taken down by the RCMP-led investigation is likely just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to illicit activity on the dark web. Ryan Duquette, a digital forensics expert and partner at EY Canada who used to work in law enforcement himself, says police are putting a lot of resources toward taking down marketplaces on the dark web, but it can be a bit like playing whack-a-mole. After executing several search warrants, officers seized 75 kilograms of various narcotics, including cocaine, MDMA, meth, heroin, and ketamine.
Furthermore, these markets also offer more security features than single-admin markets. In most cases, the vendors also have deposited large amounts for the vendor accounts. This is returned only if the vendor doesn’t scam people and isn’t reported multiple times. Because of the escrow, the sellers or the buyers can not scam each other. Your hunt for top drug markets on the dark web will end here and that’s a promise. Getting onto the darknet is shockingly easy – and navigating it is even easier.