
PhD Graduand @CriminologyUoM researching darknet markets, now SME @trmlabs Now available on [email protected]
Manchester, England
Joined April 2008
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Yesterday @GI_TOC published a report co-written by @Narcomania and myself that examines what is going on with the Russian Darknet trade. I want to share 10 key points this report lays out that sets Russian DNMs apart from their Western counterparts 🧵: theguardian.com/world/2024/n…
Patrick Shortis retweeted
1/ 🚨 Dread Hacked as Attackers Claim Control of Onion Domain and Secret Keys
Dread, one of the most prominent darknet forums, has been compromised, with those claiming responsibility now using one of the forum's well-known onion domains to promote a replacement project called Dread2.
The group claims it gained access to the Dread project, including sensitive data and the secret keys associated with the onion domain.
According to the statement, visitors to the affected Dread address may currently be served either the original Dread forum or the attackers' Dread2 site. The group claims control of the domain and says it could return it to Dread's operators or transfer it elsewhere.
The attackers also warn that data could be published if Dread attempts to interfere, although they claim they currently have no plans to release user data.
Several onion addresses for a forum called Conclave were published alongside the announcement, with the operators claiming the service is currently experiencing DDoS attacks.
The group also published a Jabber account, Session ID, and permanent PGP fingerprint for verifying future communications.
💥 No delays. No guessing. No redactions. Get the intel threat actors see, the moment they post it. darkwebinformer.com/pricing
Patrick Shortis retweeted
the Dread onion key has been leaked and the og hidden service URL has had this posted to it
Patrick Shortis retweeted
(whispers) are any of yall working today or is this just gonna sit there unreported? storage.courtlistener.com/re…
Patrick Shortis retweeted
Mexico kills top drug cartel leader ‘El Mencho’ ft.trib.al/kst6a0N
Patrick Shortis retweeted
What do we know from The Loop’s 2025 testing?
* 1 pill is not 1 dose: average pill strength = 192mg MDMA (nearly 2 adult doses)
* Pills are high & variable strength: containing 1-3 doses or more
* Adulteration is low
* None were nitazenes
#TakeQuarterSipWater
#DontDoubleDrop
This quoted post is unavailable.
Patrick Shortis retweeted
🎥
He ran one of the most secure darknet markets the world had ever seen.
MILLIONS in profits.
Hundreds of millions in volume.
Years undetected.
Then he shut it down, on purpose...
No takedown.
No exit scam.
Just silence.
This is the story of White House Market👇👇📽
Europol announces Operation RapTor, built on intelligence from the takedowns of darknet markets Nemesis, Tor2Door, Bohemia, and Kingdom.
Raptor shows how market shutdowns compound over time - each one adding to a growing pool of intelligence that leads to even bigger results.
💥 270 suspects arrested across 10 countries
💶 EUR 184M in seized cash and crypto
💊 Over 2 tonnes of drugs
🧨 180+ firearms recovered
Operation #RapTor strikes the criminal underworld on the dark web.
📲 More: europol.europa.eu/media-pres…
Pygmalion Down: A well-known DNM vendor store has been taken down by BKA. BKA claim they have forensic data on over 7000 orders. Pygmalion's team have posted on Dread and claim they will return
Patrick Shortis retweeted
1/ An investigation into the alleged identity of the mysterious Hyperliquid whale tied to illicit activity that profited ~$20M via highly leveraged positions over the past couple weeks.
Patrick Shortis retweeted
⚠️Narcoogle: A Darknet Market Search Engine that allows you to search over 2,250+ Vendors, see 500,000+ Reviews, and 875,000+ Total Sales!
Onion: http://narcooqom5mfevbeb6gck5tg5y2g2f5grywcu7cp4b3bvsmlvph66wqd[.]onion
Clearnet: https://narcoogle[.]cc
Patrick Shortis retweeted
I've published a new story regarding the various ways DrugHub a #DarkWeb Marketplace has failed.
medium.com/@D4RKR4BB1T47_940…
Another example of the hi-tech dynamics of Russia's drug trade. Our @GI_TOC report, co-authored by @Narcomania and myself, delves into the rise of darknet markets and their audacious methods. Read more: globalinitiative.net/analysi…
Patrick Shortis retweeted
Legal expert @reesjjohnson of @EssexLawSchool has spoken to members of parliament ahead of this week's vote on the Assisted-Dying Bill.
Dr Johnson said the bill has the potential to exacerbate existing healthcare inequalities for minorities.
brnw.ch/21wP0Tz
Patrick Shortis retweeted
Vive le France 🇫🇷
French radio covered @Patrick_Shortis and my report for @GI_TOC, ‘Breaking Klad’, on Russia’s bizarre drug trade radiofrance.fr/franceculture…
7. Professionalisation: Darknet vendor networks may be making the drugs, but platforms like Blacksprut, Mega and Kraken enable them, by providing e-learning courses, discussion spaces and videos on making mephedrone, to teaching users the best way to make dead-drops.
Another huge thank you to my employer @trmlabs who supported this effort with data and insights. Deep thanks also to my long-time colleague and friend Alois Afilipoiae who's expertise was critical to interpreting the on-chain data and double-checking some of our findings.
Lastly, thank you to all of those who spoke to us for this report, despite the dangers involved. Those interviews provided the critical confirmation for much of what we were seeing, and pointed to many insights we almost missed.
Read the report here: globalinitiative.net/analysi…






























