Tag Archives: Crypto-Anarchism

Federal officials stole $1M in bitcoins from Silk Road while investigating it

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“The Secret Service agent, Shaun Bridges, allegedly stole $800,000 worth of virtual currency, according to the complaint, and kept his stash in the exchange known as Mt. Gox. The DEA official, Carl Force, was ‘the lead undercover agent in communication’ with Roberts — a role that gave him the power to extort. Using a series of private, fictitious accounts, Force allegedly told Roberts he would bury evidence related to the case if Roberts paid him $250,000. In another instance, Roberts allegedly paid Force $100,000 in bitcoins after Force, using one of his anonymous accounts, offered up information related to the federal investigation.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2015/03/30/doj-these-federal-officials-stole-bitcoins-from-silk-road-while-investigating-silk-road/

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David Cameron’s plans to ban online encryption dubbed ‘infeasible’

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“David Cameron‘s proposals to end online encryption have been dismissed as ‘infeasible’ by the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology.  In a report titled ‘The Darknet and Online Anonymity’, the office argues that outlawing anonymity networks such as Tor may create more problems that it would solve.  The new dossier states that the network plays only a ‘minor role’ in the distribution and viewing of indecent images of children.  The importance of Tor for whistleblower organisations was also highlighted by the parliamentary office.  The report also downplays the threat posed by online drug markets like Silk Road, claiming that they shorten the supply chain from producers to consumers.”

http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a634487/david-camerons-plans-to-ban-online-encryption-dubbed-infeasible.html

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Uncle Sam Wants Your Keys, Says ‘Trust Me’

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“The idea that a smartphone owner alone has control of his or her data is a ‘risk,’ according to Deputy AG Bitkower. That’s not the ‘standard American principle.’ The fact that someone can reach his position while holding such ludicrous views illustrates how far we’ve fallen since 1776. Fortunately, the enemies of freedom are getting nowhere fast. The tech industry is pointing out, correctly, that designing a back door into their systems would invite every hacker on Earth to look for the keys. Someone would find them. Furthermore, the fact that Snowden easily took millions of super-secret documents is prima facie proof that the NSA cannot protect its secrets.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/news-analysis/36237/Uncle-Sam-Wants-Your-Keys-Says-Trust-Me/

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$50m Dark Web Market Just Disappeared With Millions In Bitcoin

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“It had become a bigger, badder version of the Silk Road drug bazaar in its short life, but Evolution, founded on 14 January last year, has apparently been closed and one staffer is claiming the admins have scammed its huge user base. The site, based on the anonymising Tor network, was home to nearly 20,000 drug sales at the time of its apparent demise, far more than Silk Road or its subsequent iteration Silk Road 2, but also sold weapons, from guns to tasers hidden in fake cigarette packets, and plenty of fraud material. It was also slicker, faster and more professional than other dark web markets, but is ostensibly no more.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/thomasbrewster/2015/03/18/evolution-market-a-scam-says-site-pr/

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The World’s Email Encryption Software Relies on One Guy

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“Werner Koch wrote the software, known as Gnu Privacy Guard, in 1997, and since then has been almost single-handedly keeping it alive with patches and updates from his home in Erkrath, Germany. Now 53, he is running out of money and patience with being underfunded.  Like many people who build security software, Koch believes that offering the underlying software code for free is the best way to demonstrate that there are no hidden backdoors in it giving access to spy agencies or others. However, this means that many important computer security tools are built and maintained by volunteers.”

http://www.propublica.org/article/the-worlds-email-encryption-software-relies-on-one-guy-who-is-going-broke

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Online Drug Dealers Are Now Accepting Darkcoin

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“Over the last month, two of the dark web markets selling an anonymous, mail-order catalog of narcotics and other contraband have begun supporting darkcoin transactions. On a site called Nucleus, visitors can now use darkcoin to buy LSD, MDMA, and marijuana. On the competing market Diabolus, dealers accept it for cocaine, synthetic stimulants like ethylone and alpha-PVP, and even counterfeit Euros. Those two markets still represent only a tiny fraction of the growing dark web drug economy—most of which uses bitcoin exclusively. But darkcoin’s entrance could signal a new means of transaction in that underground industry, and one that’s far harder for law enforcement to trace.”

http://www.wired.com/2014/11/darkcoin-and-online-drug-dealers/

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OpenBazaar: The Decentralized Offspring of Ebay & Amazon

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“No longer do you have to worry about a centralized business dictating the rules of operation (i.e. what kinds of items you want to list, what price, where you can sell or buy from). This creates a borderless trade system that no longer is limited to corporate interests.   Secondly is, as a protocol, OpenBazaar will support many types of business operations, not just direct sales or auctions (la eBay). You will be able to conduct all sorts of activities like lending, crowdfunding, crypto security issuance. The thing that makes this work, though, is our arbitration system, which uses multisignature transactions and a reputation system that is being built currently.”

http://cointelegraph.com/news/112756/openbazaar-the-decentralized-offspring-of-ebay-amazon-interview-with-project-lead-brian-hoffman

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The Virtual Interview: Edward Snowden

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“The New Yorker Festival presents Edward Snowden in conversation with Jane Mayer.”

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Dark net drug markets kept alive by great customer service

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“History suggests that those who want drugs will usually find a way to get them. And here they can get a better product with fewer negative risks associated with buying drugs on the street. It even bears down on the street crime associated with drug turf wars as street pushers become redundant. These marketplaces are transforming the dirty and dangerous business of buying drugs in dark alleyways into a simple transaction between empowered consumers and responsive vendors. It’s not online anonymity, Bitcoins, or clever encryption that keeps the darknet markets thriving. The real secret is good customer service.”

http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2014-08/21/buying-drugs-on-the-dark-net

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Visit the Wrong Website, and the FBI Could End Up in Your Computer

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“Security experts call it a ‘drive-by download’: a hacker infiltrates a high-traffic website and then subverts it to deliver malware to every single visitor. It’s one of the most powerful tools in the black hat arsenal, capable of delivering thousands of fresh victims into a hackers’ clutches within minutes.  Now the technique is being adopted by a different kind of a hacker—the kind with a badge. For the last two years, the FBI has been quietly experimenting with drive-by hacks as a solution to one of law enforcement’s knottiest Internet problems: how to identify and prosecute users of criminal websites hiding behind the powerful Tor anonymity system.”

http://www.wired.com/2014/08/operation_torpedo/

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