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Silk Road creator could spend decades behind bars
Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht aka Dread Pirate Roberts will be an old man by the time he gets out of prison. The 31-year-old is already expected to serve a minimum of 20 years after being found guilty on seven charges, including money laundering and narcotics trafficking. But the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara, is aiming to get an even lengthier sentence, one "substantially above the mandatory minimum." In a letter for New York Judge Katherine B. Forrest, Bharara's office wrote (emphasis ours):
Silk Road Survival: In conversation with 'Deep Web' director Alex Winter
An unassuming, Mormon family man. A brilliant physics and engineering student with a goofy smile. Five years ago, neither of these men knew each other, let alone suspected that they'd be drawn into a web suffused with libertarian dogma, hard drugs and the sort of rhetorical dedication that allegedly drove that student -- Ross Ulbricht -- to order a hit on that family man. That's the weighty world that digital documentarian Alex Winter set out to explore in his new film, Deep Web. By his own admission, the documentary -- which first appeared at SXSW in March and hits Epix on May 31st -- can't tell the whole story of the Silk Road, an anonymous bazaar of hallucinogens, hitmen and, really, whatever you were looking for. Ulbricht is still behind bars after being found guilty of all seven charges leveled at him earlier this year, which included narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering. One even crowned him a "kingpin," and stuck him with the punishment attached to the title. While he and the rest of us wait to see what his sentencing holds, though, Deep Web acts as an important crash course in the events that led to all this. We spoke to director Winter to understand how and why he put the story together on film.
Judge denies mistrial in case against Silk Road's founder (again)
If you were hoping that Ross Ulbricht (Dread Pirate Roberts of Silk Road fame) was going to get a retrial, you might wanna walk those expectations back a bit. Okay; a lot. Despite the two former federal agents involved in the investigation purportedly stealing bitcoins and committing wire fraud during the investigation, the presiding judge Katherine Forrest has denied a motion for a new trial. Albrecht's defense protested, saying that the warrantless attempts to identify the Silk Road server violated his privacy rights and that the corruption charges demanded another look to see if the case had been tainted, as Wired tells it. None of that changed her mind though. She says that the evidence of Ulbricht's guilt was "overwhelming" and that there was little chance that conceding to any of those defenses would alter the outcome of the trial at all.
Former feds in Silk Road case stand accused of stealing bitcoins
While Ross Ulbricht was found guilty for creating and running the online black market known as Silk Road, it seems that a couple of Federal agents assigned to the case weren't so innocent either. The US Justice Department has just charged two former Federal agents involved in the investigation for allegedly committing wire fraud and diverting bitcoins into their own personal accounts. Former agents Carl Mark Force IV and Shaun Bridges were part of a Baltimore investigation into Ulbricht -- Force worked for the Drug Enforcement Administration and Bridges worked for the Secret Service -- when they supposedly committed the crimes.
Anonymity is dead and other lessons from the Silk Road trial
It's a story that belongs in a major motion picture. Hidden identities, narcotics, money laundering, computer hacking, blackmail and even attempted murder are all parts of this dramatic tale. But the story behind Silk Road, the online black market for drugs and other illegal goods, is not fiction. It was a very real phenomenon, and its creator, Ross Ulbricht, is a very real person (despite his "Dread Pirate Roberts" nom de plume). Tucked away as part of the Dark Web, Silk Road used the Tor network for anonymity and dealt in bitcoin so that transactions stayed anonymous. But as the recent Silk Road trial and Ulbricht's eventual guilty verdict showed, even when you try really hard to mask your activities on the internet, it doesn't necessarily work.
Silk Road creator found guilty on all counts
After a trial of several weeks, a federal jury has found Ross Ulbricht guilty of running and operating the online black market known as Silk Road. He was found guilty on all seven charges, which include money laundering, narcotics trafficking and computer hacking. Ulbricht was accused of being the "Dread Pirate Roberts," the so-called kingpin of Silk Road, which he apparently started back in 2010 in order to sell hallucinogenic mushrooms. It then grew into a digital marketplace for narcotics and other illegal items like fake passports. Silk Road was cloaked in the Tor anonymity network to hide it from view and used bitcoin as its currency of choice due to how difficult it is to track. The site was eventually shut down in 2013 when the FBI seized its servers and arrested Ulbricht.
Bitcoin exec to spend two years behind bars for Silk Road transactions
Charlie Shrem, former Bitcoin Foundation board member and CEO of the now-defunct exchange BitInstant, has been sentenced to two years in prison for helping Silk Road users anonymously swap cash for digital currency. Silk Road, as you know, was the online marketplace infamous for hosting anonymous drug and gun sales that was busted by the FBI back in 2013. A version 2.0 went up shortly after that, but it suffered the same fate as its predecessor this November. Based on evidence gathered during the crackdown, Shrem agreed to partner with Robert M. Faiella to trade over $1 million in cash from buyers. Faiella was the one with direct contact to buyers, hiding behind the name BTCKing to post ads promoting his dollar-to-Bitcoin business on the marketplace.
US Marshals will auction 50,000 Bitcoins seized from Silk Road
Want a virtual piece of law enforcement history? You're about to get your chance. The US Marshal's Service is holding an auction on December 4th that will sell off 50,000 Bitcoins from Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts), the alleged founder of the black market website Silk Road. You'll need plenty of real-world cash to get your hands on this digital currency, though. The feds are selling the digital currency in batches of 2,000 to 3,000 coins, and you'll need to place a minimum $100,000 deposit by December 1st to claim one of them. Not exactly an impulse purchase, then. At least this isn't the last auction you'll see -- police seized a total of 144,000 Bitcoins in the Silk Road bust last year, and roughly half of them have yet to go on sale. [Image credit: AP Photo/Rick Bowmer]
Silk Road 2.0 was just the first: police seize more Tor-shielded darknet sites
Yesterday's takeover of Silk Road 2.0 was just the tip of the iceberg apparently, as the FBI and European law enforcement organizations have announced a "global action" against similar darknet marketplaces. "Operation Onymous" resulted in 17 arrests total, the removal of 410 hidden services that allegedly offered illegal drugs and weapons for sale, as well as the seizure of more than $1 million Bitcoins in, $250,000 in cash and drugs. Troels Oerting of the European Cybercrime Center told Wired that his staff hadn't had time to assemble a full list of takedowns, but it includes Cloud 9, Hydra, Pandora, Cannabis Road and more. The Telegraph reports six Britons accused of helping run Silk Road 2.0 are among those arrested, while the BBC has word of two arrested in Ireland. Like both iterations of Silk Road, the sites were using Tor to anonymize access, but were still exposed. Details of how the service was pierced have not been revealed (we have an idea), but The Wall Street Journal quotes Eurojust spokesman Ulf Bergstrom saying "You're not anonymous anymore when you're using Tor."
FBI shuts down black market website Silk Road, arrests its owner (again)
Just over a year after the feds shut down the original Silk Road, an online marketplace that offered anonymous drug and gun sales, they've apparently done the same to its successor. The FBI shut down Silk Road 2.0 and arrested its alleged founder, Blake Benthall, in San Francisco. Benthall is charged with crimes including conspiring to commit narcotics trafficking, computer hacking, trafficking in fake IDs, and money laundering. The FBI believes that the site was launched by a co-conspirator of "Dread Pirate Roberts" who founded the original website, but that Benthall took over control in late December of last year. Business Insider points out a Facebook page for Benthall listing him as a software engineer at SpaceX, while a Twitter profile is tagged "rocket scientist, Bitcoin dreamer." Like the original site, Silk Road 2.0 used Tor to hide its origins and operators, but the FBI says an undercover agent infiltrated the site's support staff and was able to communicate with Benthall directly that way. Update: SpaceX confirmed that a Blake Benthall did work for the company, but he is no longer with the firm. Update 2: The takedown was a part of Operation Onymous, which has knocked out a number of other darknet marketplaces and their alleged operators.
'Deep Web' is a show based on the Silk Road story
If the hacker bits in House of Cards' second season stoked a fire in you for the illicit parts of the internet, maybe Spike TV and Gary Oldman (pictured above) have you covered. The former has partnered with the latter and a few others to produce a series called Deep Web about, you guessed it, the hidden version of the internet where one can buy just about anything you could imagine. Like hacking software, drugs and automatic weaponry, for example. The show is based on Ross Ulbricht's ascension to the top of the online underworld and the Silk Road's bitcoin shopping mall, according to Deadline. Other details are scarce at the moment including when we might actually see it and how fictionalized it'll be (our guess? pretty heavily), but there's plenty of time for that info to surface, we'd imagine. For now, let's just hope there are 100 percent less guinea pigs and obscure techno than in what we've seen recently. [Image credit: AFP/Getty Images]
Study claims that virtual drug dealing cuts back on real violence
Few would say the FBI was doing something wrong by shutting down Silk Road's online black market, but new research suggests that there may have been a silver lining to the service's dark cloud. Researchers Judith Aldridge and David Decary-Hetu claim in a recent study that Silk Road was cutting back on violence. Since many of the sales were dealer-to-dealer rather than to customers, that supposedly reduced the chances for real-world confrontations -- you can't start a gun battle over prices when you're on the other side of the country.
Legend of Silkroad begins open beta warfare
The historical fantasy MMO Legend of Silkroad began its open beta today, inviting any and all in who wish to sample its digital wares. Legend of Silkroad is a tri-faction MMO that focuses on the economic and military conflict between three old world nations. It has a robust PvP system that encourages murder most foul in order to control the titular silk road. Or as the official site puts it, "Persia, Rome and China.. Who is the One of the all continents?" Who indeed, readers. Who indeed. You can check out a trailer for Legend of Silkroad after the jump!
US targeting Bitcoin exchanges in hunt for drug money
While Bitcoin tries to go mainstream, many supporters still celebrate its "anarchist spirit" -- but certainly not the FBI. According to the WSJ, they're probing the now-collapsed Mt. Gox exchange and several others in connection to Silk road, the notorious former drug marketplace. Authorities recently arrested its founder, Ross Albrecht, and charged him with money laundering, drug trafficking and other offenses. They've reportedly now issued subpoenas to exchanges including Mt. Gox, looking to see if they gave Silk Road crooks hard currency in exchange for Bitcoins. The investigation has just started, but such businesses now seem to be in the fed's cross-hairs -- despite the underworld's love for cryptocurrency, they still need cold cash.
Weekly Roundup: Galaxy Note 3 and Gear reviews, Twitter's $1 billion IPO, Silk Road shutdown and more!
You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Daily Roundup: Kindle Fire HDX review, Xi3's Piston console impressions, Silk Road shut down and more!
You might say the day is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workday, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Daily Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past 24 hours -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
FBI seizes black market website Silk Road, arrests its founder
Light just reached one of the darker corners of the web: the FBI has seized Silk Road, a site infamous for hosting anonymized, Bitcoin-based drug and gun sales. The move follows a sting operation that also led to the arrest of site founder Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts) for alleged hacking, money laundering and narcotics trafficking. While the seizure isn't likely to stop online contraband purchases, it's potentially a big blow. At current Bitcoin values, Silk Road generated $1.2 billion in revenue from just two years of operation -- the kind of cash that we'd expect from a large, legitimate e-commerce venture. The FBI's move also demonstrates that anonymizing technology like Tor won't always keep law enforcement at bay.
Silkroad-R R-elaunches
Don't let the fancy title fool you: Silkroad-R (the R is for "rebirth") isn't a completely new game but an updated version of Joymax's previous Silkroad. Brought into the shop for some body work and a new paint job, Silkroad-R is back and better than ever. Silkroad-R will exist on its own servers, seperate from its Silkroad ancestor. Joymax is particularly proud of a "buffed-up" cash shop, as CEO Nam-chul Kim explains: "There's many aspects of Silkroad-R that we changed or improved based on user feedback, and we took a long time investigating the cash shop and evaluating each item." To celebrate the relaunch, Joymax is sponsoring a string of giveaways through February 7th. Players who reach specific levels have a chance at Amazon gift cards and in-game boosts and items. Other launch events include a special XP-boosting NPC and a player-submitted wallpaper/greeting card contest. You can check out the official trailer for Silkroad-R after the jump! [Source: Joymax press release]
Silkroad-R adding new server, gearing up for re-launch
When we heard about Silkroad-R, our first thought was buhwhat? Is Joymax getting into race cars or something? As it turns out, the "R" stands for rebirth, and the free-to-play fantasy MMO is being groomed for a new launch in 2012 (sans some of the problems that plagued it in its original run). A new Joymax press release describes the leaner, meaner Silkroad as "the all-new, light and easy- to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game that picks up where the original left off." The company is also touting a "bot-free and lag-free experience" that includes a new server to cope with the expected new-user demand. Open beta testing is going on now through January 17th, 2012, and you can learn more about the reboot at the official Silkroad website. [Source: Joymax press release]
Silkroad Online rolls out premium server tomorrow
Wanna feel like a VIP? Silkroad Online's got you covered. Tomorrow Joymax will take the wraps off of its new premium server, Genesis, which will cater to the high-rollers and high society among MMO gamers. The members-only server will reward loyal customers by offering huge XP, SP and drop rates, GM events, and discounts on cash shop purchases for a limited time. Joymax isn't limiting the fun to just subscribers, either; all players on all servers are invited to partake in Silkroad's Carnival. The Carnival will deliver a smaller but still significant XP boost than what Genesis is offering, and any players who head over to an attendance event will rack up SP and skill/stat reset scrolls. This event goes until December 13th, so there's plenty of time to shake your booty and rack up the rewards! [Source: Joymax press release]
