Understanding the Darkweb’s Role in Crime
The darkweb, a mysterious and often misunderstood part of the internet, plays a crucial role in facilitating illicit activities. With anonymity at its core, it allows everything from harmless forums to nefarious drug exchanges. Understanding how the darkweb operates is key for law enforcement, especially when combating drug-related crimes.
The Course Overview
Between February 17 and 21, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) rolled out a comprehensive training course in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Representatives from several Central Asian nations—including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and even Mongolia—gathered to get a crash course on the perilous intersection of darkweb activity and cryptocurrency use in drug-related crimes.
New Psychoactive Substances: The Emerging Threat
A key focus of the training covered the increasingly prevalent “new psychoactive substances.” These synthetic drugs, created to replicate the effects of traditional substances, pose a unique risk due to their sketchy production methods and the unknowns surrounding them. With criminal enterprises constantly innovating, law enforcement must stay ahead of the curve.
Techniques and Knowledge Gained
Participants learned essential skills to identify darkweb sites with malicious content. This included:
- Understanding the basics of anonymity and encryption
- Recognizing the mechanics of cryptocurrency transactions in drug trafficking
- Utilizing specific tools to pinpoint illicit web activities
These skills are critical in managing the digital aspect of crime-fighting in this age of technology.
Collaborative Efforts and Future Challenges
Rustam Aziz Miralizoda, Director of CARICC, stressed the urgency of addressing these threats through enhanced regional cooperation. He highlighted that as more psychoactive substances flood the market, collaboration between countries is imperative to combat this emergent challenge.
Criminal Use of Cryptocurrencies: A Troubling Trend
Crimes involving cryptocurrencies are not just theoretical; they are happening all the time. Take the case of an Irish man caught drug trafficking, whose Bitcoin stash was promptly seized by the court. In another recent indictment, a U.S. man was charged for selling drugs in exchange for Bitcoin.
What’s alarming is that as of 2019, dark market transactions represented about 0.08% of all cryptocurrency actions. However, this doesn’t mean cryptocurrencies are just tools for crime; they can also be beneficial for law enforcement to track down criminals, as evidenced by shutting down a U.S. child pornography operation using blockchain analytics.
