DeepDotWeb Portal Administrator Pleads Guilty
@prajeetspeaks) • April 1, 2021
The shuttered DeepDotWeb portal
An Israeli citizen who served as the administrator of the now-shuttered DeepDotWeb portal that connected internet users with darknet marketplaces has pleaded guilty to a money laundering conspiracy charge, according to the U.S. Justice Department.
DeepDotWeb helped its users’ to find sites where they could purchase illegal firearms, malware and hacking tools, stolen financial data, heroin and fentanyl, and other contraband, prosecutors say.
Tal Prihar, 37, who resided in Brazil, owned and operated the portal along with co-defendant Michael Phan, 34, of Israel, who took care of the day-to-day operations.
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A message posted on the DarkMarket s website says it s been seized. (Source: Europol)
A global law enforcement operation has taken down DarkMarket, which Europol describes as the world s largest underground marketplace of illegal goods on the dark web.
Over the years, DarkMarket has generated about 140 million euros ($170.2 million) in revenue by selling drugs, malware, credit cards and more, according to Europol, which announced the takedown Tuesday.
As part of the police operation, Germany’s Central Criminal Investigation Department arrested a 34-year-old Australian alleged to have operated DarkMarket, Europol reports. Law enforcement officials also shuttered servers used to host the illicit market.
One of the three domains seized by law enforcement during Operation Nova
The FBI, Europol and other law enforcement agencies shut down a virtual private network Tuesday that was providing a bulletproof hosting service that allowed cybercriminals to conduct a variety of illegal operations, including ransomware attacks, while remaining hidden from police.
No arrests were made in association with the takedown.
The joint effort, dubbed Operation Nova, took down three domains associated with the VPN named Safe-Inet - Insorg.org, Safe-Inet.com and Safe-Inet.net - all of which were used as part of the bulletproof hosting service, the U.S. Justice Department reports.