How Does The Silkroad Anonymous Marketplace Still Stay Live?
Silkroad is an online market that has proven impossible to shut down. This black market bazaar is used to traffic all sorts of illegal products ranging from drugs, malware and even personal data. The site is believed to have been masterminded by Ross William Ulbricht. When he was arrested, people across the world thought it was the end of Silkroad but it was not. Silkroad still exists up to this moment.
Why is it difficult to shut down Silkroad?
This question is a nightmare and it can only be answered by individuals who have sufficient technological knowledge. A person may wonder how a person can engage in illegal business through the internet for a significant amount of time without being caught and tried in a court of law. People thought that the security agencies were reluctant to arrest the players in the market but when FBI narrated their story, it was confirmed that eliminating Silkroad will not happen any sooner.
FBI and other intelligence organization explain that the Tor Network is what facilitates the functioning of the Silkroad. They explained that in an effort to track the players in the illegal market, they have made up to 100 undercover purchased from Silkroad but their acts have borne no fruits since they could not identify who the sellers were. According to the FBI, this market does not operate like another market where a person logs in to his/her account then types the credit or debit number so that he/she can pay for the purchases.
What is the Tor Network?
A Tor Network, also known as the Onion Router, is a special network that is used to make it impossible to physically locate the computers that hosts or access certain websites. Christopher Tarbell, an FBI agent explained that since it is practically impossible to track the sellers and buyers, the Silkroad will continue to cause sleepless nights to government agencies such as anti-drug units.
The FBI agent went further to explain that a normal computer will not access Silkroad unless the Tor Network is obtained. In that case, if a person navigates the Silkroad website on the normal browsers, an error message will be received. However, on installing the Tor Network, navigation will be possible.
The Silkroad 2.0
When the mastermind of the original Silkroad was arrested and charged, Silkroad 2.0 was created to replace the closed one. Dread Pirates Roberts became the new leader of the site which commenced it operations in 2013. The administration vowed to improve security. They also established measures that could facilitate easy recreation of the site in case it was shut down for the second time. Silkroad is here to stay. Despite the fact that government agencies have vowed to bring it to a closure, it is evident that this online market is impossible to shut. It is a big market place. In fact, as of July, 2012, estimated $15 million transactions were made annually in the site. All transactions are made using bitcoins — A cryptocurrency that assures anonymity. Both the Tor Network and the use of Bitcoins will guarantee the site a continued existence.
