HACKERS MAKE OFF WITH A NEAR £2 MILLION DRUG MONEY
The seedy underbelly of the internet, affectionately refereed to as the darkweb, has been home to another heist totalling a current value of £1.7 million (~4474.3 BTC). The hack directed at the underground drugs network, the Silk Road, stole almost all of the virtual currency that it's users use to buy illegal narcotics over the internet. The website's current administrator, Defcon, claims that the site has been the victim of a hack that makes use of an exploit that the Bitcoin protocol has been vulnerable to since 2011.
The websites holds the users funds in two wallets. One is in “hot” storage - the coins are live and accessible on the web, which is needed for dealers to withdraw funds - and “cold” storage - where the coins are stored securely on a system with no web access. Coincidently, in the hours leading up to the hack, the staff of the site decided to move all of the site’s funds into hot storage, claiming that they needed to carry out this action in order to implement new features for the site.
Paranoia runs high amongst the drug addled populace of the Silk Road forums. A methampetamine dealer who conducted business on the Silk Road claims to have documents that prove that Dread Pirate Roberts, SR’s MIA admin, is the real perpetrator of the heist. Moderators on the website back up his claims of access to restricted information, yet cannot confirm the validity of his accusations. He reasons that DPR, who has been missing since several staff members were arrested over the Christmas period, grew cold feet during his supposed run from the law and decided to cut and run. This is remarkable out of character, given DPR’s long-winded speeches where he makes good use of revolutionary terminology in order to broadcast the idea that had made the Silk Road home to over a million illegal transactions since it’s second incarnation.
The website has been the victim of several high profile attacks over the last year, after being temporarily taken down by the FBI & suffered a prolonged DDoS attack from a rival market. It’s fucking difficult trying to find the truth in a virtual drug den. The mass exodus from Silk Road has benefited Agora, an alternative black market run by a money laundering service. Developing...
Parliament Square. Around 8pm, the 5th November. Two girls covered by thin white strips of cloth and flour flow like liquid inbetween each other. One leaps into the other’s arms; she holds her tight and floats over to the police perimeter. She gazes into a policeman’s eyes, and then gently places her friend at his feet. The policeman’s colleagues look at each other baffled, and one of their ranks can’t take it; his eyes are spinning... his mind, which for years has been programmed to “think the right thing”, decides that this is Too Much. He’s freaking inside his head. His partner to his side notices his distress and motions at him to calm down, and, fortunately, the two ghostlike girls move on with their dance, out, out into the crowd. The police’s view becomes blocked by a crowd of demonstrators, and a hint of disappointment touches a couple of faces before they remember that they must Act as Expected. They reattach their professional masks and return to starting dead-eyed at the crowd.
As far as the general accepted notion of what a protest should be is understood, London’s #MillionMaskMarch was a failure. It has been mocked in the media, branded as a bunch of burn-outs, hippies and druggies. Russell Brand made a half-masked, fully-arsed appearance and quickly became Twitter’s figurehead for those outside of the movement. This, along with both the haze of weed smoke that hovered above Trafalgar Square at 6pm on a weekday and general positivity of the night prove these generalisations true. The people protesting are the first to agree; they are not the state’s version of an Ideal Citizen.
In much the same way this is not the state’s version of a protest. With no established leadership and no published list of demands, it has been difficult to grasp what the point of this alt.protest was. Similar to the ‘Occupy’ protests, the Million Mask March was echoed across the globe in at least 440 cities across every continent. There was at least a single protest in each Western country. After speaking with protesters, it shows that these marches were a show of solidarity. The vast majority of people attending have lost all faith in the “political game” the ruling classes over the world play, and instead of attempting to fix the “corrupt, violent and elitist” system, they have decided to stop playing along. A man wearing a glittery blue eye-mask tells me that “I’m not here for myself, I live comfortably. There are those around the world, particularly in the Middle East, that don’t because of the government that we have here - and we are the only ones with the power to change that.”
It is important to remember that what things should be is rarely what they are, and the 5th of November was definitely Something. In London on the Bonfire Night, at the very least, part of that something was a party. A couple of sound systems find themselves surrounded by masked figures raving to drum & bass. A few colourful smoke bombs. Chaos pads and rhymes, acoustic guitars and drums. The atmosphere was electric. There’s constant movement, people flinging themselves around the square, bouncing off of the police lines. There’s a group of around 8 people huddled together, holding “stop the cull” signs. Behind them a middle aged couple are sat on the street blissfully blazing. People have bought their children to this; some have even bought their pets.
The protest was mostly peaceful, with only a few scuffles between civilians and police. No blood was spilled, and only Oxford Street’s Topshop, McDonald’s and Starbucks saw civilians and police clash in what can only be described as a childish bundle. Lighthearted exchanges between police and protesters, although rare, show the truth behind the ideals of this movement; humanity is one common people. Many protesters pleaded with police to forget their rank and join in, citing police budget cuts and warned of future tensions between the two groups if their differences were not resolved sooner.
This protest, although occasionally rippling with chants like liberal favourite “THIS IS WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE”, and the odd overly-hyped people shouting about “MUH FREEDUMZ”, the crowd was largely composed of reasonable individual voices. The police did a good job of cutting down the protest to size during the march, as they would block of certain roads at certain times, but they had no control as the streets of London large groups of masked figures running through them with no particular destination in mind. One such protester, who gave his name as Asif, tells me about how he comes from a financially wealthy family. He claims to be here because “the Internet has given humanity a means to communicate that transcends almost all physical boundaries.” This has had a positive effect on the people, and enables them “if they have the desire, to find out exactly how the world is run and the selfishness of those at the top.”
November 5th was an example of how it could be. With the exception of the brief moment Brand was unmasked, the masked protesters were each as important - or unimportant, depending on your outlook - as each other. That being said, a significant proportion of this movement were unable to explain in any great detail how they could see the world being run better without tearing down the systems in place and starting anew. Asif viewed their message in an almost divine light; “it’s clear that all religions share a few basic messages in common with each other, namely peace, love and unity. We are the physical embodiment of that message.” He continues to talk about the coming of the “Age of Aquarius” and what this means for the human species; “a time of togetherness - unity, and brotherly love.”
Conspiracy theorists are at large, prouder and louder than ever. The recent [NSA leaks] have proved what the general accepted consensus amongst their ranks is; the government are watching everything. Many believe that it is foolish to trust anything that their leaders may say to them, and given recent evidence, it is not hard to see how they made the jump from docile citizens to an exploited workforce.
No matter how delusional some of the ideas these people live their lives around sound, there is more than a little truth to each of them. Well versed in various “government sponsored gangwars” around the world, they are quick to condemn the blatant disrespect for human life that some hold. The facts are clear; at no time do modern governments have their people’s interests at heart, forgoing them instead for financial gain. Protests do not work; the Iraq war protest saw over one million people attend in London, and many more around the globe, that were ignored by their governments.
It’s close to the end of the night. The police have broken up much of the protest, and only a couple of handfuls of rebel souls remain. They drink, smoke, chat. The police are bored; they want to go home - but they are more willing to converse with the protesters. Several views are held in common, and the police listen to the knowledge that some in the crowd share with them with open ears. This was the point. The meeting did not expect an overnight revolution, and any media that claims it was a failure because nothing happened (Daily Mail, Vice) should have instead of attempted to see the proceedings from both street and global levels. The movement was a showing of numbers, a spreading of ideas, culture, and love.
“We don’t state our goals, our mission. it’s clear what this is,” Asif drawls into my ear; “and if some people are blinded to the truth behind our masks, then it is only a matter of time.” The immediate aftermath of the protest is simple; nothing will change. The protesters expect this, and they will be back next year with greater numbers, and again, and again, until those who hold power will have to listen. Ghandi once wrote with regards to social movements; “first they ignore you, then they laugh, then they fight back, then you win.”
Ross William Ulbrict laughs, admitting to his friend that he considers it possible. They are speaking to each other over videochat, recording the conversation for “people two hundred years in the future.” Ulbricht says that he intends to make a substantial impact on humanity in the next five years. His friend, Rene Pinnell, boasts about his position amongst the San Francisco start-up scene. The city has been home to start-ups since the .com boom, but Pinnell is confident that this time it is different; it’s bigger, better. Ulbrict has come along for the ride but now finds that he, too, has lofty aspirations. Ulbrict’s linkedin profile shows how he “wants to use economic theory as a means to abolish the use of coercion and aggression amongst mankind.” He perceives governments as the worst offenders that use force and coercion, and believes that “the best way to change a government is to change the minds of the governed.” His profile states that he is currently “creating an economic simulation to give people a first-hand experience of what it would be like to live in a world without the systemic use of force.”
Ulbrict was arrested in the science fiction section of a San Francisco Library on the second of October. He faces a hefty number of charges, including soliciting murder-for-hire, and operating a deepweb black market that facilitated worldwide illicit trade; the Silk Road.
The Silk Road opened its .onion URL in early 2011. Fine powders, crystals, personalised poems and security systems were just a few of the products that began to appear on the online market. To access the site users would use Tor, an anonymity network. Transactions would be carried out using Bitcoins, a decentralised cryptocurrency. Vendor reviews and an escrow system attracted users and encouraged more honesty from both. The administrator on the site, Dread Pirate Roberts (DPR), implemented restrictions on products or services that necessitated a victim, such as counterfeit currency and assassinations.
Although alleged to be Dread Pirate Roberts, Ulbrict has denied this charge. Given the nature of an anonymous forum, as well as the character of Dread Pirate Roberts, it would be foolish to equate the two together.
DPR didn’t create a new idea; underground trading was already present on the deepweb. He wasn’t an extraordinary coder or a security expert, writing that he was “surprised the site functions as well as it does.” His success is indicative in his space and time; San Fransisco, midway through the internet revolution. In the two-and-a-half years of server downtime, remodels and tweaks, the website grew staggeringly popular. Among the web and drug cultures in English speaking societies the Silk Road generated large amounts of interest and discussion, and facilitated millions of transactions.
The website was popular with a large cross section of the worlds population. It allowed entrepreneurs to sell items tax free, anonymously and safely; allowed individuals to purchase items their governments or geography prohibit; and created a living, physical argument for plenty of economic and political theories, bringing them into the mainstream consciousness.
Dread Pirate Roberts described the Silk Road as the “vessel for a message.” He viewed the website as a simulation for the future of economics. Claiming to have created a free market system based on the simple moral principle of negative rights, his writings on the forum indicate that, although idealistic, DPR is not naive. He admits that in his trade violence becomes necessary. He reasons that in modern society fraud and force are mainstream evils, yet in his cyberspace simulation they are “severely restricted to the sideline.”
Although visitors to Silk Road’s marketplace will be greeted with an FBI takedown notice, its forums are still accessible at [silkroad5v7dywlc.onion]. A large amount of buyers have simply flocked to alternative marketplaces, such as Black Market Reloaded and Sheep Marketplace, while the Silk Road community still live in the Silk Road forums. Interesting discussions still flow from the philosophy, politics and economics section. The security section seeps information. The dominant ideologies on the forum which on the surface appear to conflict, free market capitalists and eastern-influenced hippies, discuss the Ulbricht case.
“Dread Pirate Roberts is dead! Long live Dread Pirate Roberts!"
Most of forum activity is centred around the future of the Silk Road. Dread Pirate Roberts became active again three days after Ulbricht’s arrest, in a mythological fashion. He is treated with some suspicion by users, but as way of verification he uses the correct encryption keys. In his introduction speech he claims to be a new individual, but carry on the Dread Pirate Roberts name and ideals. **Silk Road v2.0 is up**
The return of the Silk Road, although desired, is not important for a lot of users. The Experiment ended, and unearthed valuable truths. With anonymity comes honesty, as buyers on the website were not afraid to give bad reviews to those who deserved them. Groups such as ‘the Avengers’ monitored the purity of chemicals sold, and the scam section on the forums provided valuable information to sellers and buyers alike. The market began to regulate itself. Despite the volatile changes in Bitcoin’s value, conversion and hedging systems in place helped minimise this issue. Prices stayed stable. The Royal Mail unwittingly delivered kids exotic drugs. Force and fraud were reduced to the sidelines, instead of corrupting the market like they do in the Real World. The Silk Road simulation worked.
Now that there is some substantial proof of an almost violence-free drug trade, drug legalisation will again be bought to the forefront of many minds. However, it is important to hold the Silk Road’s true lessons in mind. It worked because its ownership was minimal. The site wasn’t over-moderated and allowed to grow naturally. A prosperous, engaged and polite community rose from what many assumed nothing more than a shady website.
gratitude n. the expression of being thankful for the impact of 1. a person 2. a sequence of events 3. a metaphysical object 4. a material object 5. a general situation ... there is no end to what (a being) can express gratitude towards.
