AlphaBay and Hansa Dark Web Markets are Seized

Congratulations to the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) and Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and Dutch National Police for a massive take-down of two dark web illicit online markets! AlphaBay and Hansa markets were associated with illegal drugs, weapons, malware, and stolen information. Several deaths have been attributed to the dangerous drugs that people have obtained from these sites, including synthetic opioids, heroin, and fentanyl.   

AlphaBay had over 350,000 illicit listings, mostly dangerous drugs, and transactions totaling $450 million.   

Hansa was covertly taken over by authorities and monitored for about a month before being pushed offline. Transaction and communications data from both sites will provide a wealth of investigative information and I suspect other markets and arrests will follow.   

Interested in more? Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter (@Matt_Rosenquist), Information Security Strategy, Golos, and Steemit to hear insights and what is going on in cybersecurity.