The phrase has long been synonymous with a brisk illegal trade in pornography, weapons and drugs, and an ecosystem of hackers and illegal data dumps. A important blow has been dealt to cybercriminal activity with the apprehension of a key administrator of a prominent dark web forum in Ukraine. You face significant risks when using dark markets, including scams where vendors take payment without delivering goods. Most dark markets have user review systems and vendor ratings to establish trust. The darknet is a small part of the deep web that requires special software to access.
- Unlike the drug war in Mexico, however, there were no headless corpses hanging off bridges.
- Abacus Market appeared on the scene in 2021 and quickly became one of the heavyweights among English-speaking markets on the dark web.
- While prices are usually easy to collect for standardized goods, this is not typically the case for weapons, as there are a large number of unobserved variables that make straightforward comparisons highly challenging (such as the age and condition of the weapon, or whether it has been used to commit a murder).
- And beware—while many explore out of curiosity or for research purposes, it’s important to remember that engaging with these platforms, even as an observer, can lead to serious legal and ethical consequences.
- The Kremlin and the White House rarely see eye-to-eye, but for now, both uphold the status quo of the war on drugs.
A Threat To EU Citizens?
- Denis Pushilin, acting head of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), said as quoted by Sputnik that foreign weapons being supplied to Ukraine, including Javelin anti-tank systems, are sold on the black market, most notably to Africa.
- If someone wants direct access to a server, a cPanel, or an email, this is the place to go.The market is in English and features a massive catalog with over 800,000 illegal products.
- These two problems, which continue to plague lawmakers in Washington, have been exacerbated by the perpetuation of the war in Ukraine.
- Dark markets continually adapt and evolve to stay ahead of law enforcement and security measures.
- Marion True, longtime chief curator of the Getty Museum’s collection of antiquities, couldn’t resist.
Although this article was published during the first six months of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the perception of geopolitical tensions transcending to the dark web is apparent. How does dark web usage or virtual private network (VPN) connectivity to peer-to-peer facilitated “mesh nets” directly impact war or civil unrest? Of those 5.18 billion users, how many are throttled by their governments as to what they are allowed to do when they go online?
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Days after the PFU leak, a post titled, DTEKUA appeared with the offer to sell over 200 credentials exfiltrated from employees at a large energy investor in Ukraine. As of the date of publication, both the DIIA and e-driver.hsc.gov.ua databases were marked as sold. Another database, titled, “e-driver.hsc.gov.ua” database containing Ukrainian driver and vehicle information was listed at 431GB and offered for sale for $55K USD.
News & Events
Believe it or not, some dark web marketplaces have pretty advanced systems for building trust. Users can browse and purchase various illicit items, making these marketplaces a hub for unlawful activity. The first category includes classic marketplaces, which serve as one-stop shops for a wide range of illegal goods. The dark web marketplaces are mainly defined into two categories. Despite growing crackdowns from law enforcement agencies, the dark web remains a hotbed of criminal activity, offering everything from drugs to stolen data.
Anonymity Through Tor
Additionally, it offers automatic purchases, buyer protection, and even a loyalty points program.Since its launch, it has conducted several massive data leaks. It operates both on the dark web and the clear web, making access significantly easier. And it worked.This market focuses on stolen credit cards, personal identifiable information (PII), and SSH access credentials. Add in easy access and a vast inventory, and it’s clear why FreshTools remains highly active in 2025, even partly operating from the clear web.
Passing Syrian Weapons Off As Ukrainian
New darknet sites and markets continuously emerge to replace those that get shut down. Personal and financial data are commonly sold on dark markets, facilitating identity theft and fraudulent activities. Dark markets continually adapt and evolve to stay ahead of law enforcement and security measures. Dark markets, as well as various other services within darknets, are hosted as ‘hidden services’. Emphasizing anonymity, darknets and dark markets operate on a technical level that significantly differs from the conventional surface web. Nation-state actors, too, leverage darknets for espionage and cyber warfare, capitalizing on the obscurity and untraceability they provide.
With the events unfolding across Europe or in the Middle East, the dark web remains an essential component to empower internet freedom for those engulfed in the turmoil. An example can be seen in Figure 4, where Saudi Arabia Human Rights campaign group ALQST hosted on I2P to sidestep the governmental firewalls. Many human rights and free press organizations have a presence on various dark nets. While Iran’s extreme tactics carry much notoriety, internet censorship is well known in many countries throughout the Arabian Peninsula. Iran is a country that has a unique relationship with the dark web. Inasmuch, the events that unfolded in the months leading to the one-year anniversary of the Russia-Ukraine conflict beckons the question as to why Russia seemingly laxed its stranglehold on Tor/VPN usage.
Threat Actor Profiles
This arrest is expected to have a ripple effect on the dark web. The administrator, a Ukrainian national in his late 20s, was tracked to Kyiv and apprehended without incident. The arrest signifies a ample blow against the infrastructure supporting international cybercriminal networks.
Cybersecurity experts should pay close attention to these trends, as they often indicate emerging threats and profit-generating tactics among the cybercriminal forums. WeTheNorth is a Canadian market established in 2021 that also serves international users. BidenCash’s rapid rise and focus on financial data make it a significant concern for cybersecurity professionals. With over 40,000 product listings and valued at around $15 million, it’s a sprawling marketplace and go-to destination for drugs, counterfeit items and cybercrime tools. One of the most common is the exit scam, where a marketplace suddenly disappears and takes everyone’s money with it. Just visiting the dark web, or using a tool like Tor, isn’t illegal in most countries.
As chief curator, Frel had grown frustrated at the Getty Foundation’s inflexible structures—the board had to approve every new exhibit acquisition—and had set out to forge a new reputation for the institution. When oil tycoon and art collector Jean Paul Getty had died a few years earlier, he bequeathed much of his fortune to his charitable foundation. But the $400,000 purchase price outstripped the curator’s modest salary, even though by this summer of 1994, True had for nearly a decade been one of the leading antiquities curators in the U.S.
There are RDP accesses, SMTP logins, SSH credentials, fake pages, and even fraud tutorials. Everything is conducted within the Tor network, with payments made in Bitcoin or Monero, as is customary.One of its most curious features is its daily raffle system, funded by the market’s commissions. It offers over 20,000 listings ranging from narcotics and forged documents to hacking software and fraud tools. By 2025, it is already a key player for those involved in the business of data theft and trafficking. It is entirely focused on financial cybercrime and offers much more than just stolen cards or basic logins.Here you will find malware logs, remote access (RDP), brute force accounts, complete identity packages, and access to financial platforms. With constant updates and new providers entering the market, Exodus is positioning itself as a major player in the digital underworld of credential theft.
Security Blogs
In short, WTN continues to grow as a highly targeted and resilient marketplace within Canada’s dark web scene. These campaigns helped them gain users and redirect traffic after attacks such as DDoS.With an easy-to-use interface, a vast amount of data, and constant updates, BidenCash has become a favorite among cybercriminals involved in identity theft and financial fraud. FreshTools has been around since 2019 and has earned its place as one of the most well-known underground markets, even though it doesn’t follow the traditional dark web rules.
However, the majority of the darknet markets publishes an explicit guide with detailed instructions and a list of trusted wallets. These are some of the many dangers that you can expect to face on dark web marketplaces. We present a comprehensive description of Hydra, the largest darknet marketplace in the world until its shutdown in April 2022.
In April, TheRealDeal, the first open cyber-arms market for software exploits as well as drugs, launched to the interest of computer security experts. From late 2013 through to 2014, new markets started launching with regularity, such as the Silk Road 2.0, run by the former Silk Road site administrators, as well as the Agora marketplace. Silk Road’s use of all of Tor, Bitcoin escrow and feedback systems would set the standard for new darknet markets for the coming years.
