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Spoiler Alert: The Dark Web is Not Totally Anonymous

February 1, 2018

Naked Security has reported that researchers may be able to reveal those who bought or sold goods on the dark web. They accomplished it by connecting the bad guys to Bitcoin transactions. It all boils down to connecting the dots with all the data. To begin with, the researchers trolled hidden services on the dark web and found Bitcoin addresses from the websites. Not real smart, but misconfigured services are the main reason your identity is revealed on the dark web. They took those addresses and "smashed" them against Twitter posts and a popular Bitcoin Talk Forum. Essentially, it is an analysis that coordinates multiple sources of data.

If any address of a user is found as an input in any transaction where a hidden service address appears as an output, then the user has a relationship with that hidden service, and thus, a link is established.

While the research is very instructive, it relies on information that is pretty dated. Today's criminals are pretty savvy and know they should take additional steps to remain anonymous such as tumbling bitcoins. The message is…the dark web is not a place for the uneducated. I'll be presenting a dark web session at ABA TECHSHOW with my friend and vice-chair, Lincoln Mead, where we'll give a live demo of the dark web hidden services.

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