You Can Now Download a Copy of Pretty Much Every Dark Web Market Ever Made
Written by JOSEPH COX
July 16, 2015 // 04:15 AM EST
The life of a dark web site can be fleeting.
As quickly as one drug site emerges, it can disappear shortly after,
taking with it all sorts of information on what items were on offer, the
posts on the site's forums, and plenty of other useful pieces of data
for journalists or researchers, who are left empty handed in their
attempts to keep tabs on the dark web.
Now that might change, thanks to an independent researcher who has
released a colossal archive containing around 52Gb of data from over 80
different dark web marketplaces.
Since 2013, Gwern Branwen has collected the item listings, customer
feedback, images, forum posts and much more of all English-language dark
web markets. Branwen did this on a weekly or sometimes daily basis,
according to a write-up on his site.
“This uniquely comprehensive collection is now publicly released as a
52GB (~1.6TB) collection covering 89 [Darknet Markets] & 37+
related forums, representing <4,438 mirrors, and is available for
any research,” he wrote.
Gwern Branwen has collected the item listings, customer feedback,
images, forum posts and much more of all English-language dark web
markets
Most of the files in the collection are HTML or CSS, Branwen told
Motherboard in a Twitter message, and the archive doesn't just contain
Branwen's own data sets, but also those from several other people as
well. These include academics such as Nicolas Christin from Carnegie
Mellon University, and even dark web personalities such as the vendor
known as “El Presidente,” who made a backup of drug dealers' contact
details and PGP keys in the event of marketplaces disappearing.
Branwen has contributed plenty of pieces of original research looking
at the dark web markets. He's worked out the relative risk of running
or participating in a market, judging by the number of known arrests
from that particular market, and also mapped how long each market
existed for.
A vibrant academic community exists around these sites too, with some
researchers looking at the size of different marketplaces, and others
investigating whether drugs on Silk Road were sold mostly to
individuals, or to other drug dealers.
“I want to enable all sorts of research and analysis.”
Branwen's archive is now open for anyone to use, and he gives some
suggestions for research that could springboard from his work. It might
be possible to calculate the total number of sales per day on a market,
and see whether there are any correlations with the Bitcoin price, he
wrote. One could analyse the data for indicators of an “exit-scam,” when
a vendor or site owner disappears with a customer's cash. Or perhaps a
researcher could collate all of the posts which talk about drug purity
and see if any trends have developed over time.
Jamie Bartlett, author of the Dark Net, is already thinking of ways
to use the data set, such as “working with some drugs charities to see
what benefit there could be for the harm reduction groups and health
professionals,” he told Motherboard in an email. “It's such an
incredible resource.”
That’s exactly what Branwen had in mind when publishing the massive collection.
“I want to enable all sorts of research and analysis,” Branwen told Motherboard.
Edit: added link -> http://motherboard.vice.com/read/you-can-now-download-a-copy-of-pretty-much-every-dark-web-market-ever-made
[–][deleted] 19 points20 points21 points (7 children)
[–][deleted] 2 points3 points4 points (0 children)
[–]neovngr 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
[–]hog_master -3 points-2 points-1 points (4 children)
[–]bobbiggs69 3 points4 points5 points (2 children)
[–]hog_master 2 points3 points4 points (0 children)
[–]Dr_Zhivago_[S] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
[–]DareToHope 2 points3 points4 points (0 children)
[–][deleted] 5 points6 points7 points (4 children)
[–]Trashhhhhhman 4 points5 points6 points (0 children)
[–]Spoogly 3 points4 points5 points (2 children)
[–]sobulbous 3 points4 points5 points (1 child)
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
[–]-El_Presidente- 5 points6 points7 points (3 children)
[–]gwern 1 point2 points3 points (0 children)
[–]lemonbreak 1 point2 points3 points (0 children)
[–]hog_master 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
[–]Vendor_BBMC 1 point2 points3 points (1 child)
[–]Hank_Vendor 1 point2 points3 points (2 children)
[–]kefnar 0 points1 point2 points (1 child)
[–]Hank_Vendor -1 points0 points1 point (0 children)
[–]Vendor_BBMC 1 point2 points3 points (1 child)
[–]XeroxSnowman -1 points0 points1 point (0 children)
[–][deleted] 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
[–]CocaineNose 0 points1 point2 points (2 children)
[–]The_Grid_Is_Up 1 point2 points3 points (1 child)
[–]CocaineNose 0 points1 point2 points (0 children)
reddit gold
In Summation
Want to say thanks to %(recipient)s for this comment? Give them a month of reddit gold.
Please select a payment method.
Give gold often? Consider buying creddits to use, they're 40% cheaper if purchased in a set of 12.
Would you like to learn more about giving gold?
reddit gold
In Summation
Want to say thanks to %(recipient)s for this submission? Give them a month of reddit gold.
Please select a payment method.
Give gold often? Consider buying creddits to use, they're 40% cheaper if purchased in a set of 12.
Would you like to learn more about giving gold?