TheRealDeal

{{Short description|Darknet website for cybercrime hackers}}

{{hatnote|For the magazine and its TheRealDeal.com website, see The Real Deal (magazine)}}

{{Infobox website

| name = TheRealDeal

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| url = {{Onion defunct|trdealmgn4uvm42g}}{{cite web|title=TheRealDeal Market|url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/marketplace-directory/listing/therealdeal-market/|accessdate=30 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160530004024/https://www.deepdotweb.com/marketplace-directory/listing/therealdeal-market/|archive-date=30 May 2016|url-status=dead}}

| commercial = Yes

| type = Darknet market

| registration = Required

| language = English

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| current_status = Offline

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TheRealDeal was a darknet website and a part of the cyber-arms industry reported to be selling code and zero-day software exploits.{{cite news|last1=DeepDotWeb|author-link=DeepDotWeb|title=Not Only Drugs: New Market Focuses On Code, 0Days & Exploits|url=http://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/04/08/therealdeal-dark-net-market-for-code-0days-exploits/|accessdate=15 May 2015|date=8 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518093751/http://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/04/08/therealdeal-dark-net-market-for-code-0days-exploits/|archive-date=18 May 2015|url-status=dead}}

The creators claimed in an interview with DeepDotWeb that the site was founded in direct response to the number of dark websites which have emerged during the past few years which do not actually have anything of value to sell and are just scams.{{cite news|last1=Winder|first1=Davey|title=Is this new zero-day dark market the real deal?|url=http://www.itpro.co.uk/security/24478/is-this-new-zero-day-dark-market-the-real-deal|accessdate=17 May 2015|date=21 Apr 2015}} The site relied on Tor and bitcoin similar to other darknet markets but required multi-signature transactions. There was speculation in the computer security community as to whether the site is a law enforcement sting operation due to apparent listing of exploits at many times below their potential market value.{{Cite web |title=Is this new zero-day dark market the real deal? |url=https://www.itpro.co.uk/security/24478/is-this-new-zero-day-dark-market-the-real-deal |access-date=2022-04-23 |website=IT PRO |date=21 April 2015 |language=en}}

In July 2015 the website was down for 24 hours at the same time as cyber crime forum Darkode was seized by the FBI and various members arrested in 'Operation Shrouded Horizon'.{{cite news|last1=Cox|first1=Joseph|title=The Mysterious Disappearance, and Reappearance, of a Dark Web Hacker Market|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/the-mysterious-disappearance-and-reappearance-of-a-dark-web-hacker-market/|access-date=31 July 2015|date=29 July 2015}} On 13 August in 2015 the site went offline for unknown reasons.{{cite web|title=Dead Markets|url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/marketplace-directory/categories/dead-scam|accessdate=13 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150812105034/https://www.deepdotweb.com/marketplace-directory/categories/dead-scam|archive-date=12 August 2015|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|title=DarkNet Stats|url=https://dnstats.net/market/TheRealDeal|accessdate=13 September 2015|archive-date=8 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208074857/https://dnstats.net/market/TheRealDeal|url-status=dead}} On December 1 it announced its reopening on DeepDotWeb.{{cite news|title=TheRealDeal: This Long-Dead Market Was Just Relaunched!|url=https://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/12/01/therealdeal-this-dead-market-was-just-relaunched/|accessdate=3 December 2015|publisher=DeepDotWeb|date=1 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208163642/https://www.deepdotweb.com/2015/12/01/therealdeal-this-dead-market-was-just-relaunched/|archive-date=8 December 2015|url-status=dead}} The Real Deal was shut down in November 2016.http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2017/08/cybercrime-finds-a-way-despite-dark-web-shutdowns/ [https://archive.today/20170901031647/http://www.itnewsafrica.com/2017/08/cybercrime-finds-a-way-despite-dark-web-shutdowns/ archive]