DarkCyber for March 13, 2018, Now Available
March 13, 2018
The March 13, 2018 DarkCyber video news program, produced by Stephen E Arnold, is now available. DarkCyber covers the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services.
The program is available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/259403592.
The March 13 program explores the high-profile National Crime Agency arrest and sentencing of Matthew Falder. Mr. Falder, a faculty member at the University of Birmingham, was engaged in child pornography, blackmail, and related offenses. In the aftermath of the case, the difficulty of shutting down the Dark Web became evident to some in the United Kingdom.
Stephen E Arnold said, “The UK’s National Crime Agency has demonstrated its capabilities in data analysis of Dark Web metadata and its traditional investigative expertise. The identification, prosecution, and incarceration of an individual responsible for abuse of dozens of young people illustrates the effectiveness of the NCA’s blending of advanced technology and cyber expertise.”
DarkCyber takes a look at the information about the Defense Intelligence Agency’s National Media Exploitation Center. DarkCyber reveals that the capabilities of NMEC and other government agencies are significant and are extensible with the user of tools and methods developed by commercial firms like Cellebrite, now owned by a Japanese company.
The regulation of digital currency is gaining momentum in the US and elsewhere. Coinbase, a digital currency facilitator, has agreed to comply with a request from the US Internal Revenue Service. The IRS will receive the digital currency transaction histories of more than 10,000 Coinbase users. The door remains open for the IRS to gain access to additional transaction data. With this IRS activity, the deanonymization of digital currency transactions is underway.
DarkCyber reveals that TLS (transport layer security) certificates caught the attention of Recorded Future’s analysts. Dark Web sites are selling hijacked TLS certificates. DarkCyber provides the names of Surface Web vendors which sell legitimate certificates for about $5, a fraction of what Dark Web vendors charge.
Kenny Toth, March 13, 2018
DarkCyber for March 6, 2018, Now Available
March 6, 2018
The DarkCyber weekly video news program is available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and at vimeo.com/258482690. Produced by Stephen E Arnold and Beyond Search, the program covers the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services.
The March 6, 2018, DarkCyber video news program is now available. This week’s program features information about Stephen Allwine’s attempt to purchase an assassination from the Dark Web Besa Mafia site. Mr. Allwine was swindled and his wife remained alive. DarkCyber explains how an information technology professional killed his wife and staged a suicide. Mr. Allwine was convicted and is in jail with time to contemplate losing $6,000 paid to the Besa Mafia Dark Web site and his incarceration for murder.
DarkCyber reports about ASI Data Science’s smart software. The system can scan millions of videos and identify those with terrorist-related content. The system operates at an accuracy level greater than 90 percent.
Criminals operating from Ukraine stole $50 million in Bitcoin. However, the Dark Web was not the vehicle in this case. The criminals used Google advertising, spoofed Web sites, and gullible people. The fraudsters are now sought by Ukrainian authorities.
A multi-jurisdictional task force has shut down Infraud, a Dark Web site and discussion service. DarkCyber explains the method used to deanonymize the bad actors. One of the criminals used the handle “1stunna,” which is either a reference to the individual’s appearance or a misspelling of “first tuna.” Software correlates handles (aliases) with IP addresses and other data. DarkCyber reports that “tunna” was caught in the net. Arrests took place in the US, Australia, the UK, France, Italy, Kosovo, and Serbia.
Kenny Toth, March 6, 2018
DarkCyber, February 27, 2018, Now Available
February 27, 2018
The DarkCyber video news program about the Dark Web and lesser known Internet services is now available. The program can be viewed at http://www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/257348721 . The program features Stephen E Arnold, author of CyberOSINT and The Dark Web Notebook.
This week’s program covers research which explains why Dark Web vendors of controlled substances offer free samples. Unlike street dealers who use samples to “hook” new users, Dark Web merchants have another goal in mind. Dark Web drug buyers can leave reviews about the quality of product and the reliability of a Dark Web vendor. The free samples are designed to cause people who post an Amazon-style recommendation about a drug market that is positive.
What motivates an individual to use the Dark Web to locate and acquire child pornography? Researchers from Australia have offered a mathematical procedure to identifying specific characteristics which help answer this question. An analysis of Dark Web traffic combined with streamlined analytic techniques yield a partial answer. Not too surprisingly, greed and desire are the fuel which contribute to the behavior.
Stephen E Arnold said:
“The development of the Tor Use Motivation Module or TMM allows more precise and rapid analysis of hidden Web data. The benefit is that identification of bad actors now consumes fewer computational resources and generates results in minutes, not days.”
DarkCyber reports that open source software can be used to obtain information from multiple Dark Web sites or probe a specific Dark Web site for intelligence. A series of informative articles with code snippets allows a person with average programming skills to conduct a Dark Web intelligence operation.
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation, working with the US FBI uncovered and shut down a sex trafficking service in the Peach state. A human trafficking circuit operated between Atlanta and three other Georgia cites.
About Stephen E Arnold
Stephen E Arnold is the author of “Dark Web Notebook” and “CyberOSINT: Next Generation Information Access.” He lectures at the Telestrategies ISS conferences about Dark Web and lesser known Internet security threats. His training programs for law enforcement and intelligence professionals reach hundreds of operating personnel each year and influence agent instructional programs in the US and in other countries. He provides strategic information services to clients worldwide. His services include analysis, investigation support, and training to commercial organizations and government agencies. His daily blog Beyond Search is available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
Kenny Toth, February 27, 2018
DarkCyber for February 20, 2018, Now Available
February 20, 2018
The February 20, 2018, DarkCyber walks through the method for de-anonymizing Bitcoin transactions. The paper, written by researchers at Qatar University, highlights information leakage in the Bitcoin blockchain implementation. The video news program is available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/256283081 .
A Dark Web customer used multiple identities to purchase Class A controlled substances via the Dark Web. Investigators were able to trace one of the bad actor’s false identities to specific personal details and arrest the individual. Aliases combined with use of the Tor browser are vulnerable to the investigative methods used by British cybercrime investigators.
LmnTrix, an Australian cyber security firm, discovered a new ransomware service called GAndCrab. What makes the service unique is that the developers impose a terms of service agreement upon individuals wishing to extort money. One example of the deal is that clients of the ransomware software developer must agree to use the software outside of Russia and other members of the Commonwealth of Independent States or have their license for the ransomware revoked. MBA thinking now informs black hat hackers.
You can view the video at this link.
Kenny Toth, February 20, 2018
Winter Olympics Opening: Was It a Demo?
February 11, 2018
I love digital technology. I even have a computer with video editing software. It seems that other folks follow my lead. Many are younger than I. I know this because the opening ceremony drone extravaganza was a demo.
I read “Drones Grounded at Opening Ceremony — But Not on Tape Delay.” I assume the write up is accurate, although even “real” news outfits have issues with “fake news.”
The line between reality and post production seems blurry. Does it matter? Not to advertisers as long as they get eyeballs. And Intel? Well, at least the post production drone show works unlike some of the firm’s technology.
Stephen E Arnold, February 11, 2018
Searching Video and Audio Files is Now Easier Than Ever
February 7, 2018
While text-based search has been honed to near perfection in recent years, video and audio search still lags. However, a few companies are really beginning to chip away at this problem. One that recently caught our attention was VidDistill, a company that distills YouTube videos into an indexed list.
According to their website:
vidDistill first gets the video and captions from YouTube based off of the URL the user enters. The caption text is annotated with the time in the video the text corresponds to. If manually provided captions are available, vidDistill uses those captions. If manually provided captions are not available, vidDistill tries to fall back on automatically generated captions. If no captioning of any sort is available, then vidDistill will not work.
Once vidDistill has the punctuated text, it uses a text summarization algorithm to identify the most important sentences of the entire transcript of the video. The text summarization algorithm compresses the text as much as the user specifies.
It was interesting and did what they claimed, however, we wish you could search for words and have it brought up in the index so users could skip directly to specific parts of a video. This technology has been done in audio, quite well. A service called Happy Scribe, which is aimed at journalists transcribing audio notes, takes an audio file and (for a small fee) transcribes it to text, which can then be searched. It’s pretty elegant and fairly accurate, depending on the audio quality. We could see VidDistill using this mentality to great success.
Patrick Roland, February 7, 2018
DarkCyber for February 6, 2018, Now Available
February 6, 2018
The Beyond Search DarkCyber video program for January 6, 2018, is now available. You can view the program on YouTube or on Vimeo. This week’s program reveals that the go-to system for purchasing military-grade weapons is Telegram, the messaging app. Lebanon’s surveillance program has been exposed. After years of covert operation, human error allowed researchers to characterize the operation. White hat and black hat techniques were used by the Middle Eastern country. Haven, a software app attributed to Edward Snowden, promises protection from third-party access to a mobile phone. Dark Cyber tested the app and found that it could transmit data back to the app’s creator. The program also reviews some of the investigative techniques used to locate the operator of a Dark Web pornography site. In addition to analysis of Dark Web traffic, investigators matched behavioral to Surface Web sources and examined linguistic behaviors to track down users. You can view the video from the Beyond Search main page at this link.
Kenny Toth, February 6, 2018
DarkCyber for January 23, 2018, Now Available
January 23, 2018
The January 23, 2018, DarkCyber program about the Dark Web and related online issues is now available. The program can be viewed at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress and on Vimeo at this link: https://vimeo.com/251980239.
The program address four important news stories related to law enforcement and intelligence work.
A new Dark Web search systems called Candle wants to provide easy, quick access to Dark Web content. The DarkCyber’s research team found that the system was easy to use. However, specific searches often return no results. This week’s program suggests an work around.
Mobile phones can be fingerprinted. Take a picture with a mobile phone, and researchers have discovered that manufacturing defects in sensors make it possible to tie a specific mobile phone to a particular digital image. Although in the research and development stage, the data suggest a new tool for law enforcement when gathering evidence in human trafficking and pornography cases.
The need for anonymous communication is fueling an open source project called Soprani.ca. The idea is that an alternative network will allow untraceable messaging and calling. The challenge of these leapfrog innovations is that established lawful intercept companies may have to develop new systems and methods. The giant Shoghi Communications reveals that its system can struggle when trying to make sense of encrypted communications, including https packets.
Bitcoin is running into regulatory headwinds. The news about China’s actions has overshadowed an equally important development in Australia. DarkCyber explains why Australia’s actions are important.
You can view the program at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
Kenny Toth, January 23, 2018
DarkCyber, January 16, 2018, Now Available
January 16, 2018
This week’s DarkCyber examines the Experian Dark Web alerting service. Based on an examination of the Digital Shadows’ Web site, that company is working with Experian to provide the Experian consumer service. Digital Shadows appears to be moving from its law enforcement and intelligence focus into a broader business to business and consumer market.
The video is available on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/250765019 The video can be accessed via Beyond Search at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress.
The program also takes a different approach to the changes in net neutrality. DarkCyber reports that law enforcement and intelligence agencies may have wider scope for action for certain data collection methods. Companies like FinFisher allow non US customers a way to gather information using higher levels of network access.
Stephen E Arnold, publisher of the Beyond Search blog and producer of HonkinNews DarkCyber, said:
“Outside of the US certain governments are able to use the capabilities of Tier 1 and Tier 2 network providers, aided by specialized software from companies like FinFisher. With a higher level of network access, placing special software on suspected bad actors computing devices is less complicated. Changes in net neutrality in the United States may facilitate a similar capability. In order to deal with the increasingly rapid changes in technology available to bad actors, access to higher level network access can pay significant dividends for law enforcement and intelligence authorities.”
Dark Web eCommerce vendors, Stephen E Arnold reports, are now showing more interest in digital currencies with more robust obfuscation. Monero and Zcash are two currencies gaining momentum in the Dark Web. Investigators’ ability to figure out who is conducting certain digital currency transactions continues to improve.
The final story takes a look at the alleged kidnapping of a British supermodel. The alleged wrongdoer is awaiting trial in Italy, but the publicity about the alleged auctioning of the supermodel as a Dark Web sex slave remains controversial.
Check out the video at this link.
Kenny Toth, January 16, 2018
DarkCyber for January 9, 2018, Now Available
January 9, 2018
The January 9, 2017, DarkCyber video news program is now available at www.arnoldit.com/wordpress. (The video is also available on Vimeo at https://vimeo.com/249649665.)
The Dark Cyber program (produced by Stephen E Arnold, Beyond Search, and HonkinNews) for January 9, 2017, explains how Trovicor’s IPF collects and analyzes a range of information. This low-profile company, based in Germany, provides lawful intercept technology to more than 35 countries. The company’s robust system has the capability of monitoring the data flows resulting from the actions of a single individual to the actions of a a much larger group of suspected bad actors. Trovicor sells and licenses its technologies to governments, not commercial enterprises.
The January 9, 2017, video answers a frequently asked question about the Dark Web: “Can a person buy an automatic weapon on a Dark Web contraband site?” The answer is provided by the US Government Accountability Office. The GAO studied more than 70 Dark Web merchants offering weapons. More than 15 percent were outright scams, but other vendors were set up to do business and sell in exchange for digital currencies. There are barriers; for example, delivery. The Dark Cyber video provides details and a link to the GAO report.
Dark Web drug markets thrive despite increased pressure from government authorities in Western Europe, the UK, and elsewhere. The reason is simple economics. The cat-and-mouse game means that when one drug site is taken down by law enforcement, another drug site opens. Dark Cyber reports that online drug buyers seek sources of contraband despite the risks of legal action.
Dark Cyber also explains how Dark Web drug economics encourages bad actors to open contraband Web sites despite law enforcement crackdowns. This week’s program answers the question, “Can a person buy an automatic weapon on the Dark Web?” The research conducted by the US Government Accountability Office provided the answer. The study reported that 15 percent of weapon offers were scams, a surprisingly low number if the data are accurate.
Kenny Toth, January 9, 2018
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