DeepDotWeb
{{Short description|Darknet news website}}
{{Infobox website
| name = DeepDotWeb
| logo = DeepDotWeb_Logo_(2017).png|
| screenshot =
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| caption =
| url =
| commercial =
| type = Technology news and information
| registration =
| language = English
| num_users =
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| owner = Tal Prihar, Michael Phan
| author =
| editor =
| launch_date = October 2013
| alexa =
| revenue =
| current_status = Seized on {{end date and age|2019|5|7}}
| footnotes =
}}
DeepDotWeb was a news site dedicated to events in and surrounding the dark web featuring interviews{{cite magazine|last1=Greenberg|first1=Andy|title=New Dark-Web Market Is Selling Zero-Day Exploits to Hackers|url=https://www.wired.com/2015/04/therealdeal-zero-day-exploits/|access-date=24 May 2015|date=17 April 2015|magazine=Wired}}{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420200853/https://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/04/08/therealdeal-dark-net-market-for-code-0days-exploits/ | archive-date=20 April 2015 | date=8 April 2015 | url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/04/08/therealdeal-dark-net-market-for-code-0days-exploits/ | url-status=dead | title=Not Only Drugs: New Market Focuses On Code, 0Days & Exploits | work=DeepDotWeb}} and reviews about darknet markets,{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150418080359/http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/02/03/utopia-marketplace-is-now-officialy-open/ | archive-date=18 April 2015 | url=http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/02/03/utopia-marketplace-is-now-officialy-open/ | title=Utopia Marketplace is now Officially Open! | date=3 February 2014 | work=DeepDotWeb | url-status=dead}}{{Cite web|last=Faife|first=Corin|date=January 27, 2022|title=DeepDotWeb operator sentenced to eight years for money laundering|url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/27/22904803/deepdotweb-operator-sentenced-money-laundering-bitcoin-darknet-fbi|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127183214/https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/27/22904803/deepdotweb-operator-sentenced-money-laundering-bitcoin-darknet-fbi|archive-date=January 27, 2022|access-date=January 27, 2022|website=The Verge}}{{cite news|title=Utopia drugs market forced off Tor by Dutch police |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-26147994 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=24 May 2015|date=12 February 2014}} Tor hidden services, privacy, bitcoin, and related news. The website was seized on May 7, 2019, during an investigation into the owners' affiliate marketing model, in which they received money for posting links to certain darknet markets,{{cite news|last1=Kan|first1=Michael|title=Feds Seize DeepDotWeb for Taking Money From Black Market Sites|url=https://www.pcmag.com/news/feds-seize-deepdotweb-for-taking-money-from-black-market-sites|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507180831/https://www.pcmag.com/news/368198/feds-seize-deepdotweb-for-taking-money-from-black-market-sit|archive-date=7 May 2019|access-date=7 May 2019|date=7 May 2019|url-status=live|work=PC Magazine}} and for which they were charged with conspiracy to commit money laundering. In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Coverage has included darknet market drug busts,{{cite news|last1=Price|first1=Rob|title=Crazy photos of the drugs seized in the largest ever Deep Web drugs bust|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/german-police-bust-shiny-flakes-deep-web-drug-operation-2015-3|access-date=24 May 2015|date=13 Mar 2015|work=Business Insider}}{{cite tweet | url=https://twitter.com/DeepDotWeb/status/576032091382505472 | user=DeepDotWeb | number=576032091382505472 | title=The Biggest DarkNet Drug related seizure Ever: ~ Vendor "Shiny Flakes" Bust
}} pedophile crowdfunding,{{cite news|last1=Cook|first1=James|title=Paedophiles Have Created A Deep Web Version Of Kickstarter To Crowdfund Child Porn|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/pedophiles-have-created-a-deep-web-version-of-kickstarter-to-crowdfund-child-porn-2014-11|access-date=24 May 2015|date=14 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141115003825/https://www.businessinsider.com/pedophiles-have-created-a-deep-web-version-of-kickstarter-to-crowdfund-child-porn-2014-11|archive-date=15 November 2014|website=Business Insider}}{{cite web | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125235717/https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/11/09/as-drug-markets-are-seized-pedophiles-launch-a-crowdfunding-site/ | archive-date=25 January 2018 | url-status=dead | work=DeepDotWeb | date=9 November 2014 | url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/11/09/as-drug-markets-are-seized-pedophiles-launch-a-crowdfunding-site/ | title=While Markets Get Seized: Pedophiles Launch a Crowdfunding Site}} the details of hacking of darknet markets,{{cite news|last1=Love|first1=Dylan|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/silk-road-hack-2014-2|title=Major Online Marketplace Silk Road Hacked — Someone Stole All Its Bitcoins|access-date=24 May 2015|date=13 February 2014|work=Business Insider}}{{cite web | work=DeepDotWeb | url=http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/02/13/silk-road-2-hacked-bitcoins-stolen-unknown-amount/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140213210018/http://www.deepdotweb.com/2014/02/13/silk-road-2-hacked-bitcoins-stolen-unknown-amount/ | archive-date=13 February 2014 | title=Silk Road 2 Hacked, All Bitcoins Stolen – $2.7 Miliion}} as well as the diversification of markets such as TheRealDeal selling software exploits.
Site features included blacklisted markets,{{cite news|last1=Swearingen|first1=Jake|title=A Year After Death of Silk Road, Darknet Markets Are Booming|url=https://finance.yahoo.com/news/death-silk-road-darknet-markets-142500702.html|access-date=24 May 2015|date=2 October 2014}} comparisons, and reviews.
In May 2015, McAfee covered a free ransomware-as-a-service called 'Tox' hosted somewhere on the dark web{{cite news|last1=Walter|first1=Jim|title=Meet 'Tox': Ransomware for the Rest of Us|url=https://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/meet-tox-ransomware-for-the-rest-of-us|access-date=31 May 2015|date=23 May 2015|archive-date=6 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150606232959/https://blogs.mcafee.com/mcafee-labs/meet-tox-ransomware-for-the-rest-of-us|url-status=dead}} whose developers gave an interview to DeepDotWeb.{{cite news|work=DeepDotWeb|title=New DeepWeb Site Offers Free Ransomware Creation|url=http://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/05/27/new-deepweb-site-offers-free-ransomware-creation/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150811040006/http://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/05/27/new-deepweb-site-offers-free-ransomware-creation/ | archive-date=11 August 2015 | access-date=31 May 2015 | date=27 May 2015 | url-status=dead}}
Domain seizure
On May 7, 2019, the deepdotweb.com and its sister .onion domain were redirected to a Domain Seizure notice. The notice was presented by the FBI and prominently displayed the logos of EUROPOL and numerous affiliate law enforcement agencies, including the British National Crime Agency and the German Bundeskriminalamt. The Israeli police alleged that the owners of DeepDotWeb had been receiving Bitcoin in exchange for links to black market sites on the deep web.
Criminal charges
In May 2019 site owners, Tal Prihar and Michael Phan were indicted in United States court, each on one charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering. According to the United States Department of Justice, DeepDotWeb received about $8.4 million in kickbacks from purchases of fentanyl, firearms, hacking tools, and other contraband on Darknet marketplaces, and transferred this to personal wallets using shell companies. According to the Department of Justice, while DeepDotWeb was in operation a total of 23.6 percent of all orders completed on AlphaBay involved DeepDotWeb.{{DoJ}}{{Cite web|date=2021-03-31|title=DeepDotWeb Administrator Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Conspiracy|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/deepdotweb-administrator-pleads-guilty-money-laundering-conspiracy|access-date=2021-03-31|website=www.justice.gov|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Israeli administrator of DeepDotWeb site admits to laundering millions|url=https://www.post-gazette.com/news/crime-courts/2021/03/31/Israeli-administrator-DeepDotWeb-site-plea-money-laundering-millions-illegal-drugs/stories/202103310101|access-date=2021-03-31|website=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|language=en}}{{Cite web|date=2019-05-08|title=ADMINISTRATORS OF DEEPDOTWEB INDICTED FOR MONEY LAUNDERING CONSPIRACY RELATING TO KICKBACKS FOR SALES OF FENTANYL, HEROIN, AND OTHER ILLEGAL GOODS ON THE DARKNET|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdpa/pr/administrators-deepdotweb-indicted-money-laundering-conspiracy-relating-kickbacks-sales|access-date=2021-04-01|website=www.justice.gov|language=en}}{{Cite web|title=Justice Department charges Deep Dot Web administrators with money laundering|url=https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/08/doj-deep-dot-web-indictment/|access-date=1 April 2021|archive-url=https://archive.today/20210520110528/https://techcrunch.com/2019/05/08/doj-deep-dot-web-indictment/|archive-date=20 May 2021|url-status=live|website=TechCrunch|date=8 May 2019 |language=en-US}}{{cite web | url=https://www.scribd.com/document/409191397/Deep-Dot-Web-Indictment | access-date=20 May 2021 | title=IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE WESTERN DISTRICT OF PENNSYLVANIA United States of America v. Tal Prihar Michael Phan d/b/a DeepDotWeb, Defendants INDICTMENT COUNT ONE Conspiracy to Commit Money Laundering | archive-url=https://archive.today/20210520111719/https://www.scribd.com/document/409191397/Deep-Dot-Web-Indictment | archive-date=20 May 2021 | url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2019-05-08|title=Administrators of DeepDotWeb Indicted for Money Laundering Conspiracy, Relating to Kickbacks for Sales of Fentanyl, Heroin and Other Illegal Goods on the Darknet|url=https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/administrators-deepdotweb-indicted-money-laundering-conspiracy-relating-kickbacks-sales|access-date=2021-04-01|website=www.justice.gov|language=en}}
File:How_DeepDotWeb_Profited_by_Referring_the_General_Public_to_Darknet_Marketplaces.jpg operation by referring users to darknet marketplaces according to the United States Department of Justice]]
In March 2021 site administrator Tal Prihar pleaded guilty to his charge of conspiracy to commit money laundering.{{Cite web|date=2021-03-31|title=DeepDotWeb boss pleads guilty to laundering millions|url=https://www.cyberscoop.com/deepdotweb-tal-prihar-dark-web-darknet/|access-date=2021-03-31|website=CyberScoop|language=en}}
In January 2022, site administrator Tal Prihar was sentenced to 97 months in prison for money laundering. He was ordered to forfeit more than $8.4 million.{{Cite web|last=Faife|first=Corin|date=January 27, 2022|title=DeepDotWeb operator sentenced to eight years for money laundering|url=https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/27/22904803/deepdotweb-operator-sentenced-money-laundering-bitcoin-darknet-fbi|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220127183214/https://www.theverge.com/2022/1/27/22904803/deepdotweb-operator-sentenced-money-laundering-bitcoin-darknet-fbi|archive-date=January 27, 2022|access-date=February 3, 2022|website=The Verge}}