Criminals Get Caught by Weak Security

Apparently, criminals need to be more concerned about security, too!  US and European law enforcement agencies recently took down 400 illegal websites, arrested 17 people and confiscated drugs, money and computer equipment.  The websites were all using Tor, a web anonymity application that is used for accessing the "dark web"-- webpages that are not indexed by normal web browsers like Google or Bing.  Because the websites aren't easily accessible, they are popular with people who want to circumvent laws.  This includes political activists.  It also includes people who sell child porn, stolen credit card information, illegal drugs and weapons.

Tor is a browser on the surface, but it has a suite of applications that work with it to anonymize the path the data takes, add layers of encryption and hide the identity of the sender.  The user can access the dark web using Tor, but it isn't secure unless you configure and activate the additional applications.  Adding additional security such as adding more hops or additional layers of encryption slows down the data transfer.  Apparently, some criminals got complacent or impatient.

The specifics of how the criminals were caught isn't explained in the blog post, but my best guess is they cut corners with their security.  In this case, it worked out for the forces of good!



Nieva, R. (2014, November 7). Police skirt Tor anonymity software in shutting down illegal websites - CNET [Web log post]. Retrieved from http://www.cnet.com/news/authorities-skirt-tor-anonymity-software-in-shutting-down-illegal-websites/

/