The darkish internet and instantaneous messaging companies akin to Telegram are being rampantly used for drug trafficking, the India Future Foundation (IFF) stated in its just lately launched report.
Drug trafficking is a extremely organized and structured prison enterprise that generates billions of {dollars} in earnings yearly. The events concerned within the commerce have deep pockets and use them to move giant portions of medicine over lengthy distances. They reap the benefits of people who find themselves compelled or hooked on medication, thereby making a thriving business that’s now extensively acknowledged as a type of organized crime.
The darkish internet, a hidden a part of the web, accessible by particular software program like Tor, has turn out to be a fertile floor for such unlawful actions as a consequence of its anonymity and encryption options. The IFF’s report highlights the convergence of the darkish internet and Telegram as a brand new problem for legislation enforcement businesses combating drug trafficking.
DARK WEB
The report delves into the historical past of drug trafficking on the darkish internet, with concentrate on the infamous Silk Road, an early darkish internet market that facilitated the commerce of unlawful items, primarily medication. Despite the apprehension of Silk Road’s founder Ross Ulbricht, the darkish internet drug market continued to evolve.
According to the examine report, the researchers discovered varied marketplaces over the darkish internet akin to The Dark Market (affords Banana Kush hash, tablets, ketamine injections and weed merchandise), The Peoples Drug Store (affords heroin and cocaine, euphoria-inducing ecstasy) and Black Market (affords LSD, the remodeling DMT Drugs, and pure white Xanax bars and MDMA tablets).
Users of the darkish internet could entry these on-line markets which operate equally to e-commerce platforms and have opinions, scores and buyer assist, whereas the utilization of cryptocurrencies akin to Bitcoins in these markets promotes transaction anonymity. For instance, if somebody desires to purchase 18mg of Methylphenidate and 50mg of Heroin, they should pay 0.00026 bitcoin (equal to $7) and 0.00205 bitcoin (equal to $55), respectively.
TELEGRAM
Meanwhile, in keeping with the report, Telegram, with its end-to-end encryption and secret chats, has emerged as one other most popular platform for drug sellers to speak and coordinate transactions.
Telegram’s person base contains a number of teams and channels devoted to the sale and distribution of medicine. These communities exist within the software’s shadows and often want distinctive invitation hyperlinks or connections to entry. They present a spot for drug distributors to showcase their commodities, negotiate offers with customers, and conduct enterprise.
The platform’s anonymity and encrypted nature have made it troublesome for legislation enforcement businesses to intercept and decode conversations, hindering efforts to dismantle drug trafficking networks. The report reveals conversations with drug sellers on Telegram, shedding gentle on their modus operandi and the widespread use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoins for transactions.
About this report, Kanishk Gaur, a cybersecurity professional and one of many researchers, stated: “The Dark Web has long been associated with various forms of illegal activities. Our recent investigations have revealed a significant surge in drug trafficking operations being conducted via this platform in India.”
“Our research has identified a growing nexus between these Dark Web operations and mainstream messaging platforms, particularly Telegram. Telegram’s end-to-end encryption and the ability to create private, unsearchable groups have made it a preferred tool for these illicit networks. Our findings indicate that these groups are using Telegram as a means to communicate, negotiate, and even conduct transactions, effectively turning a tool designed for privacy and security into a facilitator of illegal activities,” he added.
According to Gaur, this discovering is troubling because it highlights the elevated complexity of drug trafficking networks and their potential to leverage know-how for his or her operations. He additionally acknowledged that this has additionally raised main issues about know-how corporations’ roles and duties in stopping their platforms from being abused on this method.
IFF in its report emphasizes the necessity for collaboration amongst legislation enforcement, tech firms, and social media platforms to fight drug trafficking on the darkish internet and Telegram successfully. Stricter rules, improved monitoring, and consciousness campaigns are really useful to deal with the causes and promote on-line security.
Source web site: www.news18.com
