Carnegie Mellon University

Hamerschlag Hall at night

May 31, 2019

Christin says dark-web ecosystem undented by law enforcement efforts

Despite having brought down multiple marketplaces for illicit goods and drugs over the past several years, law enforcement officials across the world are still struggling to contain the emergence of new dark-web markets to replace them. “History has taught us that this ecosystem is very, very resilient,” says CyLab’s Nicolas Christin “It's part of a cycle, and we’re in the chaotic part of the cycle. We’ll have to see how it recovers. But if I were a betting person I would put more money on it recovering than on it dramatically changing.” International law enforcement has made major improvements in coordination and methodology, but according to Christin, their efforts don’t “seem to have dented the ecosystem in a major way.” Read more here.