Darkest Web: Drugs, death and destroyed lives ... the inside story of the internet's evil twin

321 Pages·2018·6.563 MB·English

by  Ormsby, Eileen

‘Ormsby has delivered a triumph of narrative journalism, meticulously researched
and gripping, a skilful mergence of tech jargon with human drama.’
THE SATURDAY PAPER
…
A kingpin willing to murder to protect his dark web drug empire. A corrupt
government official determined to avoid exposure. The death of a dark web drugs
czar in mysterious circumstances in a Bangkok jail cell, just as the author arrives
there. Who’s behind the markets that came after Silk Road, willing to sell poisons
and weapons, identities and bank accounts, malware and life-ruining services
online to anyone with a wallet full of Bitcoin?
…
A death in Minnesota leads detectives into the world of dark web
murder-for-hire where hundreds of thousands of dollars in Bitcoin is paid
to arrange killings, beatings and rapes. Meanwhile, the owner of the most
successful hitman website in history is threatening the journalists who
investigate his business with a visit from his operatives—and the
author is at the top of his list.
…
People with the most depraved perversions gather to share their obscene
materials in an almost inaccessible corner of the dark web. A video circulates
and the pursuit of the monsters responsible for ‘Daisy’s Destruction’ leads
detectives into the unimaginable horror of the world of hurtcore.
Eileen Ormsby has spent the past five years exploring every corner
of the dark web. This book will take you into the murkiest depths of the
web’s dark underbelly: a place of hitmen for hire, red rooms, hurtcore sites
and markets that will sell anything a person is willing to pay for
—including another person. Enter the darkest web...
DRUGS, DEATH AND DESTROYED LIVES…
THE INSIDE STORY OF THE INTERNET’S
EVIL TWIN
Cover design: Design by Committee
Praise for Silk Road
‘Ormsby’s investigative journalism shines as she provides a very
thorough account of Ulbricht’s rise and fall.’ Penthouse Magazine
‘Through her clear rendering of the facts, Ormsby makes the
intricacies of the technology involved accessible to even the most
technophobic of readers. The tone is conversational and friendly
while the content is intriguing and increasingly dark. In her quest to
uncover the mystery behind the enigmatic DPR she uncovers a story
of subterfuge, replete with conspiracy theories and hidden identities,
that is rich with anecdotes.’ Newtown Review of Books
‘The book is a fascinating expose of this particular aspect of the “dark
web” of internet dealings and its subsequent unravelling.’ Sydney
Morning Herald
‘Ormsby is a great writer, giving us gripping accounts from the people
who actually used “Silk Road” to paint an accurate picture of how the
website was created, run, and ultimately fell . . . Silk Road is easily one
of the best books I’ve read this year.’ The Library NZ
‘Silk Road is one of the more readable and gripping true crime books
of recent times. It is not just Ormsby’s knowledge of the brief but spec-
tacular rise and fall of Silk Road that makes for compelling reading,
but also the ordering of the material so that the reader has the sense of
being educated in the technical and legal background to an a stonishing
criminal enterprise.’ The Australian
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‘For the most complete account of the original Silk Road, which was
closed down by the FBI in late 2013, Eileen Ormsby’s book Silk Road
is the best place to start. It’s full of original research, interviews and
insight. This is best read along with her excellent blog, AllThingsVice,
which covers several aspects of the dark net, but especially the dark
net markets.’ Jamie Bartlett, author of Darknet and Radicals
‘A great strength of the meticulously researched Silk Road is the manner
in which Ormsby gently takes the reader by the hand, unpacking the
technology underpinning this ‘dark net’ market.’ Australian Police Journal
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Eileen Ormsby is a lawyer, author and freelance journalist based in
Melbourne. Her first book, Silk Road was the world’s first in-depth
expose of the black markets that operate on the dark web. Her
gonzo-style investigations have led her deep into the secretive corners
of the dark web where drugs and weapons dealers, hackers, hitmen
and worse ply their trade. Many of these dark web interactions turned
into real-world relationships, entanglements, hack attempts on her
computer and even death threats from the dark web’s most successful
hitman network as she researched Darkest Web. She now lives a quiet
life off-grid as much as possible.
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Unless otherwise stated all currency is in US dollars
First published in 2018
Copyright © Eileen Ormsby 2018
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in
any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior
permission in writing from the publisher. The Australian Copyright Act 1968
(the Act) allows a maximum of one chapter or 10 per cent of this book, whichever
is the greater, to be photocopied by any educational institution for its educational
purposes provided that the educational institution (or body that administers it) has
given a remuneration notice to the Copyright Agency (Australia) under the Act.
Allen & Unwin
83 Alexander Street
Crows Nest NSW 2065
Australia
Phone: [phone]
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.allenandunwin.com
A catalogue record for this
book is available from the
National Library of Australia

ISBN 978 1 76029 785 5
Set in 12/16.5 pt Minion Pro by Midland Typesetters, Australia
Printed and bound in Australia by Griffin Press
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
The paper in this book is FSC® certified.
FSC® promotes environmentally responsible,
socially beneficial and economically viable
management of the world’s forests.
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For Mum and Dad, who gave me my love of reading and who
secretly wish I wrote nice literary fiction, but are nevertheless
unrelentingly proud and supportive of everything I do.
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CONTENTS
Author’s note xi
Prologue xiii
Introduction xxi
PART I DARK 1
PART II DARKER 93
PART III DARKEST 227
Afterword 283
Ackowledgements 287
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