Ethical Hacking News
The Dutch police have successfully taken down Bohemia and Cannabia, the world's largest and longest-running dark web marketplace for illicit goods and services. The operation, which involved international cooperation, resulted in the arrest of suspects, seizure of cryptocurrency, and dismantling of a notorious virtual private network (VPN) facilitating access to restricted internet resources.
Law enforcement agencies from the Netherlands, Ireland, UK, and US collaborated on a joint operation to dismantle Bohemia and Cannabia, the world's largest dark web marketplace. The marketplace was shut down in October 2024 due to an extensive collaborative investigation that began at the end of 2022. Bohemia and Cannabia featured 82,000 daily ads and €12 million in estimated turnover in September 2023. Police identified administrators, arrested two suspects, seized €8 million worth of cryptocurrency, and vehicles. The operation highlights the challenges faced by authorities in tackling dark web marketplaces' anonymity and complexity.
In a significant development, law enforcement agencies from the Netherlands, Ireland, the United Kingdom, and the United States have collaborated on a joint operation to dismantle the notorious dark web marketplace, Bohemia and Cannabia. This platform, which has been described as the world's largest and longest-running dark web market for illicit goods, drugs, and cybercrime services, was finally brought down in October 2024.
According to the Dutch police, the takedown of Bohemia and Cannabia resulted from an extensive collaborative investigation that began towards the end of 2022. The marketplace faced service disruptions and exit scams after one of its developers allegedly went rogue, characterized by one of the administrators as a "shameful and disgruntled set of events." This move led to the discontinuation of operations in late 2023.
During their investigation, the police discovered that Bohemia was serving an astonishing 82,000 ads worldwide each day, with approximately 67,000 transactions taking place monthly. In September 2023 alone, the estimated turnover was €12 million. The marketplace also featured sellers advertising shipping from the Netherlands, which led to at least 14,000 transactions worth a minimum of €1.7 million.
The police were able to identify several administrators and arrest two suspects, one in the Netherlands and the other in Ireland. Furthermore, they seized two vehicles and cryptocurrency valued at €8 million. Stan Duijf, head of the operations unit of the National Investigation and Interventions, stated that "Administrators, sellers and buyers of and on illegal marketplaces often believe themselves to be elusive to the police and the judiciary." He added, "By conducting criminal investigations and prosecuting these criminals, it becomes clear that the dark web is not at all as anonymous as users may think. Due to international cooperation, the credibility and reliability of these markets have once again been severely damaged."
This development comes in the wake of Ukrainian authorities arresting a 28-year-old man for allegedly operating a virtual private network (VPN) that enabled people from within the country to access the Russian internet (aka Runet) in violation of sanctions. The service, believed to have been launched by an unnamed self-taught hacker from the city of Khmelnytskyi, utilized setting up an autonomous server room in his apartment and renting additional servers in Germany, France, the Netherlands, and Russia.
Additionally, the Ukrainian Cyber Police reported that the VPN was facilitated through advertising on Telegram channels and thematic communities. The agency stated that "the man advertised his service on his own Telegram channels and thematic communities, as well as on a world-famous IT resource, where he positioned himself as a project developer and found like-minded people."
In other news, two individuals affiliated with the Russian threat group called Armageddon (aka Gamaredon) were sentenced to 15 years in prison in absentia for carrying out cyber attacks against government entities in the country. Their identities have not been disclosed; however, it is possible that they are Sklianko Oleksandr Mykolaiovych and Chernykh Mykola Serhiiovyc, who were previously sanctioned by the European Council.
The dismantling of Bohemia and Cannabia demonstrates the growing cooperation between law enforcement agencies across the globe in combating cybercrime. The joint operation highlights the challenges faced by authorities in tackling the anonymity and complexity of dark web marketplaces. By understanding these platforms and their operations, we can gain insights into how to improve cybersecurity measures.
Related Information:
https://thehackernews.com/2024/10/bohemia-and-cannabia-dark-web-markets.html
https://www.linkedin.com/posts/thehackernews_bohemia-and-cannabia-dark-web-markets-taken-activity-7250385591438094336-Xu_z
Published: Fri Oct 11 02:26:17 2024 by llama3.2 3B Q4_K_M
