Darknet markets blackmailed by hacker with DDoS attacks

Deep web news source Darknetlive reported that the person or organization routinely performing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks against darknet black markets reached out to their administrators to ask for a ransom.

Darknetlive — a website closely connected to the deep web underworld — reports that the attacker reached out to a select number of black market admins in the last 48 hours. The messages promised that attacks would cease for a few days and asked for a ransom in exchange for prolonged server uptime.

The Darknetlive administrators explained that the sources behind the news “have been threatened to deal under the table or they’ll get DDoSed again.”

A DDoS attack sees a network or website be flooded with requests from multiple sources, overpowering its infrastrcture and making it unavailable to its intended users. The attack is carried out by a distributed network of compromised devices — known as a botnet — or many voluntary participants as often happens with large hacktivist collectives.

Attacking devices send a large number of requests to the target, overwhelming its servers and causing it to slow down or crash.

DDoS attacks can be highly disruptive, causing significant financial losses and damaging the reputation of the target. They are often used by competitors or other malicious actors to extort money from businesses, disrupt online services, or carry out political or social attacks.

Darknetlive explained that black markets find themselves in a “prisoner’s dilemma” since any payments would provide funding for further attacks on all other markets.

The outlet further explains that “it is suspected that the individual has run out of funding, due to the fact that no market admin has agreed to pay ransom for almost a year up to this point.”

A deep web black market is an online marketplace that operates on the portion of the internet not indexed by traditional search engines, known as the “deep web.” These markets are designed to facilitate the sale and purchase of illegal or illicit goods and services, such as drugs, stolen data, counterfeit documents, and malware.

Transactions on these black markets are often conducted using cryptocurrencies — mainly bitcoin (BTC) and monero (XMR) — to maintain anonymity and avoid detection by law enforcement.

While some products sold on deep web black markets may be legal in certain jurisdictions, the anonymity and unregulated nature of these marketplaces have made them a popular destination for criminals looking to profit from illegal activities.

The use of these marketplaces can also pose significant risks to buyers, including the potential for fraud, scams, or exposure to malware.

Law enforcement agencies around the world have stepped up efforts to combat these marketplaces, often working in collaboration with technology companies and other organizations to shut them down and prosecute those responsible for their operation.

The development follows recent reports that an international investigation took down two communities and one crypto-powered market dedicated to exchanging child sexual abuse material on the deep web.