OFF-STANDARD OPERATION OR DISMANTLING

A DARKWEB PLATFORM

One of the largest illegal platforms active in France on the "dark web" was dismantled after a large operation led by Customs, the first of its kind, announced Saturday the Minister of Public Accounts Gerald Darmanin.

Qualified as "exceptional", this operation, "the first of its kind in France" mobilized more than forty officers of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED), the handlers of the customs and several technical experts. It took place simultaneously in several cities of France.

The investigation, which continues, has been entrusted to the Central Office of the fight against crime related to information and communication technologies (OCLCTIC).

Narcotics, weapons and false papers.

The forum "Black Hand" ("Black Hand"), active in the part of the Internet not referenced by search engines, had been selling for over two years many illegal products and services (narcotics, weapons, false papers, stolen bank details ...), according to the minister's press release.

A darknet is a layered network (or network overlay) that uses specific protocols integrating functions of anonymization. Some darknets are limited to the exchange of files, others allow the construction of a complete anonymous ecosystem (web, blog, mail, irc). Sharing is anonymous users can communicate without much fear of interference from the share of governments or companies. For these reasons, darknets are often associated with political dissent type communication and illegal activities as in the case of the "Backhand" forum.

Many data entered.

The investigators seized nearly 4,000 euros in cash and around 25,000 euros in various virtual currencies. They were also able to access the content of the "Black Hand" server and proceed with the massive data entry. After 48 hours of police custody, four suspects were brought Friday to magistrates of the public prosecutor's office of Lille, after the dismantling occurred Tuesday.The main administrator of the site and "several other people were arrested".

According to the first elements of the survey, more than 3,000 people were registered on this forum, "thus confirming the very active character of this French forum".

"I congratulate DNRED's agents for this extraordinary operation, and the dismantling of this platform is a first at the national level and illustrates the mobilization of customs," said Gerald Darmanin in a statement.