DeepDotWeb was a news site dedicated to events in and surrounding the

dark web The dark web is the World Wide Web content that exists on ''darknets'': overlay networks that use the Internet but require specific software, configurations, or authorization to access. Through the dark web, private computer networks can communi ...

featuring interviews and reviews about

darknet market A darknet market is a commercial website on the dark web that operates via darknets such as Tor or I2P. They function primarily as black markets, selling or brokering transactions involving drugs, cyber-arms, weapons, counterfeit currency, stole ...

Tor hidden services Tor, short for The Onion Router, is free and open-source software for enabling anonymous communication. It directs Internet traffic through a free, worldwide, volunteer overlay network, consisting of more than seven thousand relays, to con ...

privacy Privacy (, ) is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves, and thereby express themselves selectively. The domain of privacy partially overlaps with security, which can include the concepts of a ...

bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

, and related news. The website was seized on May 7, 2019, during an investigation into the owners'

affiliate marketing Affiliate marketing is a marketing arrangement in which affiliates receive a commission for each visit, signup or sale they generate for a merchant. This arrangement allows businesses to outsource part of the sales process. It is a form of p ...

model, in which they received money for posting links to certain darknet markets, and for which they were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Coverage has included darknet market drug busts,

pedophile Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

crowdfunding Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and alternative finance. In 2015, over was raised worldwide by crow ...

, the details of hacking of darknet markets, as well as the diversification of markets such as

TheRealDeal TheRealDeal was a darknet website and a part of the cyber-arms industry reported to be selling code and zero-day software exploits. The creators claimed in an interview with DeepDotWeb that the site was founded in direct response to the numb ...

selling software exploits. Site features included

blacklisted Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority compiling a blacklist (or black list) of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as being deemed unacceptable to those making the list. If someone is on a blacklist, t ...

markets, comparisons, and reviews. In May 2015,

McAfee McAfee Corp. ( ), formerly known as McAfee Associates, Inc. from 1987 to 1997 and 2004 to 2014, Network Associates Inc. from 1997 to 2004, and Intel Security Group from 2014 to 2017, is an American global computer security software company head ...

covered a free

ransomware Ransomware is a type of malware from cryptovirology that threatens to publish the victim's personal data or permanently block access to it unless a ransom is paid off. While some simple ransomware may lock the system without damaging any files, ...

-as-a-service called 'Tox' hosted somewhere on the dark web whose developers gave an interview to DeepDotWeb.

Domain seizure

On May 7, 2019, the deepdotweb.com and its sister

.onion .onion is a special-use top level domain name designating an anonymous onion service, which was formerly known as a "hidden service", reachable via the Tor network. Such addresses are not actual DNS names, and the .onion TLD is not in the I ...

domain were redirected to a Domain Seizure notice. The notice was presented by the FBI and prominently displayed the logos of EUROPOL and numerous affiliate law enforcement agencies, including the British

National Crime Agency The National Crime Agency (NCA) is a national law enforcement agency in the United Kingdom. It is the UK's lead agency against organised crime; human, weapon and drug trafficking; cybercrime; and economic crime that goes across regional and in ...

and the German Bundeskriminalamt. The Israeli police alleged that the owners of DeepDotWeb had been receiving

Bitcoin Bitcoin ( abbreviation: BTC; sign: ₿) is a decentralized digital currency that can be transferred on the peer-to-peer bitcoin network. Bitcoin transactions are verified by network nodes through cryptography and recorded in a public distr ...

in exchange for links to black market sites on the deep web.

Criminal charges

In May 2019 site owners, Tal Prihar and Michael Phan were indicted in United States court, each on one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the

United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a federal executive department of the United States government tasked with the enforcement of federal law and administration of justice in the United State ...

, DeepDotWeb received about $8.4 million in kickbacks from purchases of fentanyl, firearms, hacking tools, and other contraband on Darknet marketplaces, and transferred this to personal wallets using shell companies. According to the Department of Justice, while DeepDotWeb was in operation a total of 23.6 percent of all orders completed on

AlphaBay AlphaBay is a darknet market operating both as an onion service on the Tor network and as an I2P node on I2P. After it was shut down in July 2017 following law enforcement action in the United States, Canada, and Thailand as part of Operation ...

involved DeepDotWeb. How_DeepDotWeb_Profited_by_Referring_the_General_Public_to_Darknet_Marketplaces

In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. In January 2022, site administrator Tal Prihar was sentenced to 97 months in prison for money laundering. He was ordered to forefit more than $8.4 million.

References

{{Tor hidden services Dark web American news websites Internet services shut down by a legal challenge Internet properties disestablished in 2019 Internet properties established in 2013 Money laundering

Domain seizure

Criminal charges

See also

References