Security News > 2022 > April > Authorities Fully Behead Hydra Dark Marketplace

German authorities have taken down the Hydra marketplace - a popular destination on the Dark Web for trading in illicit goods and services, including cyberattack tools and stolen data.

"The illegal marketplace was a Russian-language Darknet platform that had been accessible via the Tor network since at least 2015," according to a Tuesday statement from Frankfurt's public prosecutor and Germany's Federal Criminal Police Office.

Prosecutors are charging Hydra operators and administrators with charges of: commercially operating a criminal trading platform on the internet; the commercial procurement or granting of an opportunity for the unauthorized purchase or the unauthorized sale of narcotics; and commercial money laundering.

Given their status as linchpins of the Dark Web underground economy for cybercriminals and narcotics traders alike, international authorities have continued to put effort into dismantling underground markets.

Europol announced the takedown of DarkMarket, which according to the law enforcement agency was "The world's largest illegal marketplace on the Dark Web.".

DarkMarket served as a marketplace for cybercriminals to buy and sell drugs, counterfeit money, stolen or counterfeit credit card data, anonymous SIM cards and malware.

News URL

https://threatpost.com/authorities-hydra-dark-marketplace/179240/