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Surface Transport Terror Threats: ‘Soft’ Targets, Hard Security Challenge

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By Deepti Govind

We set the stage in a piece published about two weeks ago, on examining the kind of threats surface transportation around the world has faced from terror actors over time. To quickly recap what we said then: While the number of attacks on large surface transportation modes, like railways, remains statistically low in economically advanced countries, globally the number of attacks with 25 or more fatalities has been growing. What possibly makes surface transport — whether buses, trains, passenger ferries, etc. — attractive targets is that it gives terror actors access to crowds, and it is also relatively easier to carry out attacks on these modes of transport without using sophisticated weapons or strategies.

In this piece, the second in our mini-series on terror threats to surface transportation, we examine the kind of methods terror actors have used to attack these modes of transport. We also take a look at what authorities have been doing to combat this threat.

Soft Targets, Primitive Methods

There’s no single definition, but there are certain attributes that could make experts label a terror attack “sophisticated,” according to a paper published by the Mineta Transportation Institute (MTI) and San Jose State University in June 2020. For instance, the paper says, a terror attack may be considered sophisticated if:

  • It involves multiple operatives with different assigned roles
  • Adversaries may be able to recruit someone who can provide them with “inside assistance,” i.e., an insider threat, or are able to gain access to information about a target that is not easily available to the public
  • Requires specialized skills or training; for example learning how to fly commercial jets in case of attacks on the aviation industry
  • Envisions closely coordinated operations against multiple targets
  • Involves the penetration of manned or closely monitored security perimeters or overcome significant physical barriers

The 9/11 attacks are considered to be sophisticated even though the kind of weapons used were rather primitive in nature (box cutters, utility knives, and pepper spray). Why? According to the same paper:

  • To begin with, the operation itself took years to plan. It involved the Al Qaeda drawing on its global resources to recruit for and finance the attack and for operational support
  • The 19 hijackers were selected after a stringent vetting process. Six of them enrolled in U.S. flight schools to learn how to fly large commercial jets. The others provided the “muscle” for the operation
  • Many of the attackers were instructed to obtain new passports, some of which were altered by Al Qaeda document specialists to facilitate entry into the U.S. All were instructed to obtain U.S. driver’s licenses so that they would not have to use their Middle Eastern passports and risk attracting attention
  • The attackers also spent months watching security procedures at airports, taking reconnaissance flights, and making test runs with the weapons they thought they could pass through security

But the 9/11 attacks fall under the relatively less common category of sophisticated terror acts. As we mentioned in our previous piece on the subject too, given primitive attacks logically lead to less damage, can we afford to be lax about security? Definitely not. Terror actors can attack anything, anywhere, anytime, using any weapon — from the most rudimentary to the complex (like the Tokyo subway sarin gas attack of 1995).

On the other hand, when it comes to surface transport terror attacks, none of them (until 2019) involved penetrating any formidable security measures, according to the MTI-San Jose paper. Six attacks involved devices or techniques that could be considered sophisticated, while five involved coordinated multipart attacks that could be considered complex, the paper added. For example, using public stabbings as a terror tactic is a recent phenomenon, although it has been the method most associated with homicides.

Per a 2019 MTI report, trends also point to a long-term increase in terrorist vehicle ramming attacks, but that increase “also appears to reflect a contagion effect in which one attack inspires another.” Stabbings and vehicle ramming are both considered primitive in nature according to the MTI-San Jose paper. “The weapons—a knife, a vehicle—are readily accessible, and although some of the attacks are well-planned, planning is not necessary. Some of the attacks appear to be spontaneous,” the paper adds.

Securing Surface Transportation

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also labeled surface transport a “soft target.” Unlike aviation, where you have established security checkpoints at the airport, the sheer volume of passengers and the open environments they operate in makes a fixed security checkpoint tougher to implement when it comes to surface transportation. Then there is the massive challenge of adequate resources and manpower to protect every stretch of surface transportation.

Like we mentioned in our earlier piece, Al Qaeda’s “Inspire” magazine itself spells out why the rail industry makes for an “attractive” target, according to an article in Homeland Security Today from March 2019. The article says it’s practically impossible for America to protect its “240,000 km of railroad.” At the same time, given the volume of passengers who use these modes of transport on a daily basis, they offer terror actors the “opportunity” to cause a lot of damage if their plots succeed.

In a 2017 post, the DHS said the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) is one of the busiest transit systems in the nation, averaging about 712,000 trips per weekday. Metro Transit Police are acutely aware that rail and subway systems are susceptible to attacks or other acts of violence, due to both the high volume of commuters and the open, unstructured nature of the environment, it added.

And, as we said earlier, fixed security checkpoints come with too many practical challenges to be viable. Therefore, identifying potential threats on people and in their bags without physically interacting with them or impacting their movement through the system is challenging. One solution that the DHS lists out could be if there was a way to detect potential threats in bags or on persons from the moment they entered the subway. And if there was a way to know the path individuals take as they move through the system, and to relay that information to transit police in real-time. That’s where the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) comes in.

S&T’s Surface Transportation Explosives Threat Detection (STETD) Program, per the DHS’ 2017 post, is testing a potential solution to this challenge and aims to provide the surface transportation end-user community with the capability to screen for potential threat items at the speed of the traveling public. “Basically, we are taking a ‘Curb to Platform’ approach to security,” Don Roberts, S&T Program Manager said. The “Curb to Platform” approach uses a network of different sensors distributed at various points throughout rail and subway systems. It will allow authorities to get multiple perspectives for better detection without alerting the subject.


Video Source: DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s YouTube account

“One such STETD Program technology is the Intelligent Video algorithm designed by Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory. The algorithm can detect a leave-behind item while reducing the number of false alerts transit police must resolve on a daily basis. Another technology, the Forensic Video Exploitation and Analysis (FOVEA) tool developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory, enables security personnel to tag a person to a left-behind item and then reconstruct the path of that individual across multiple camera views. With FOVEA, hours of video can be scanned much faster than it would normally take, making the process more efficient and more effective. These tools are being tested now by WMATA and Amtrak,” the DHS said in its 2017 post.

These tools are being developed with the hope that they’ll solve some of the biggest challenges of securing surface transportation from terror actors, while keeping the personal privacy of passengers intact, without disruptions to the flow of passengers, and on the principle that it’s “impossible for law enforcement officials to be everywhere all the time.”

From Shootings To Vandalism And Cyber Threats: A Round-Up Of Crimes On Casino Property Over The Weekend

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

Casino news from the weekend includes reports of shootings and other crimes on properties, and a cyber crime warning. On Saturday, Nov. 6, a shooter fatally wounded two people before turning the gun on himself at Stateline Casino in Bainville, Montana. In Nevada, an intoxicated man allegedly broke a light fixture on a slot machine and threatened staff at a Carson City gaming property.

Meanwhile, late last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Cyber Crime Division warned tribal casino owners to be on high alert for ransomware attacks. Finally, also connected to the hospitality and entertainment industry was news of a shootout at a beachfront near a Mexican resort in Cancun on Thursday, Nov. 4, between two suspected gang members.

In Montana, local newspaper Billings Gazette reported that the shootings took place inside the casino. Deputies responded to reports of a shooting about 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, and found three people dead when they arrived. It is unclear what time the incidents occurred. Authorities have not yet revealed a possible motive, although some media reports are terming it a murder-suicide.

Bainville is a small farming town of about 300 people in far-eastern Montana. Both Stateline Casino and the nearby Colby Casino were closed after the shootings. As of early Sunday, Nov. 7 there was no word on when they will reopen. “In tandem with Colby’s casino, we, too, will be closed until further notice. Our entire staff is so grateful and overwhelmed with all of the support. Feeling so thankful for a community of caring people and brave first responders!,” a weekend Facebook post from Stateline said, per Casino.org.

There have been other instances of murder-suicides occurring at gaming properties nationwide. Of those, the deadliest was the Harvest music festival shooting on the Las Vegas Strip on Oct. 1, 2017. In that incident, a lone gunman — Stephen Craig Paddock — unleashed a rapid-fire barrage of bullets from the 32nd floor of a Las Vegas hotel upon those attending a country music festival below, killing at least 59 people and injuring over 500 more. It has been termed the worst mass shooting in modern American history.

Another example occurred this year in March. A Wynn Las Vegas security officer and an employee of the hotel-casino died in what police say was an apparent murder-suicide in a parking garage at the Strip location. The shooting occurred in a remote area on the fifth floor of the secure employee parking garage. No one else was nearby. 

In Nevada, on Friday, Nov. 5, a 60-year-old man was arrested and charged with destruction of property. He later told deputies he was angry that the casino’s employees wouldn’t help him search for his car parked outside. Neither the suspect nor the name of the casino was identified in a local news report. Deputies said a blood alcohol concentration test showed alcohol levels in the man’s bloodstream exceeded the threshold considered as “intoxicated.”

He had allegedly asked casino employees where his car was located. Employees gave him the location, but would not go outside to help him look for it. That led him to tell one worker he would “kick their ass,” according to a local media report. After the threat, employees at the gaming property contacted the local sheriff’s office. Deputies said they saw surveillance video that showed the man breaking the slot machine light fixture.

Meanwhile, numerous cyberattacks on tribal casinos have been reported in recent months. And on Thursday, the FBI asked these casinos to stay on high alert for more threats. Cyber gangs find such businesses attractive to penetrate because of an array of perceived security shortcomings, the FBI said in a recent industry notification distributed to tribal casinos. Since the tribal casinos are located on sovereign land, their IT infrastructure networks are at greater risk of attack, per reports.

The FBI Cyber Crime Division said while many tribal casinos are IT savvy, with world-class computer networks and gaming systems, many others remain limited to basic internet security safeguards. FBI Director Christopher Wray says criminal cyber strikes have increased rapidly over the past decade. Wray said businesses concerned with their IT susceptibility should contact their local FBI field office to learn more about how to protect their networks.

How To Protect Yourself From Cybercrimes: An Introduction

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometric staffer

Only yesterday, Nov. 4., we wrote about how the Justice Department had said in an interview with the Associated Press that they are stepping up firepower in the battle against ransomware attacks and cybercrime. The number of cybercrime attacks, particularly ransomware, has exploded in the past year. And no industry appears to have been spared, with targets ranging from infrastructure to education and gaming. In many cases, the intensity and level of attack have baffled even cybersecurity experts and have caused them to wonder how such massive attacks didn’t trip a single alarm.

While it is true that sometimes even the most secure networks may end up with a potential data breach, or come close to being attacked, the more aware everyone is of cyber scams and what can be done to protect themselves, the better our chances of preventing falling prey to it. Whenever a cybercrime occurs, it’s usually because the criminal found a weak point of entry that they exploited to gain access to their target. And the targets when it comes to cybercrimes are typically money (just as with several other kinds of crimes in the physical world) and data — personal or otherwise.

In this piece, we examine a few major kinds of criminal schemes that cybercriminals mostly use to defraud victims of millions of dollars a year, and look at a few key tips on how to protect yourself better and add another crucial layer of security to your cyber world. These are mainly drawn from information published by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

Cybercriminal Modi Operandi

According to the FBI, there are seven main kinds of high-profile methods that cybercriminals use to target victims. The Bureau goes on to describe them as:

  • Business E-Mail Compromise (BEC) — A sophisticated scam targeting businesses working with foreign suppliers and companies that regularly perform wire transfer payments. The scam is carried out by compromising legitimate business e-mail accounts through social engineering or computer intrusion techniques to conduct unauthorized transfers of funds.
  • Data Breach — A leak or spill of data that is released from a secure location to an untrusted environment. Data breaches can occur at the personal and corporate levels and can involve sensitive, protected, or confidential information that is copied, transmitted, viewed, stolen, or used by an individual unauthorized to do so.
  • Denial of Service — An interruption of an authorized user’s access to any system or network, typically one enacted due to malicious intent.
  • E-Mail Account Compromise (EAC) — Similar to BEC, this scam targets the general public and professionals associated with, but not limited to, financial and lending institutions, real estate companies, and law firms. Perpetrators of EAC use compromised e-mails to request payments to fraudulent locations.
  • Malware/Scareware — Malicious software that is intended to damage or disable computers and computer systems. Sometimes scare tactics are used by the perpetrators to solicit funds from victims.
  • Phishing/Spoofing — Both terms deal with forged or faked electronic documents. Spoofing generally refers to the dissemination of e-mails that are forged to appear as though it was sent by someone other than the actual source. Phishing, also referred to as “vishing,” “smishing” (a combination of the words SMS and phishing), or “pharming,” is often used in conjunction with a spoofed e-mail. It is the act of sending an e-mail falsely claiming to be an established legitimate business in an attempt to deceive the unsuspecting recipient into divulging personal, sensitive information such as passwords, credit card numbers, and bank account information after directing the user to visit a specified website. The website, however, is not genuine and was set up only as an attempt to steal the user’s information.
  • Ransomware — A form of malware targeting both human and technical weaknesses in organizations and individual networks in an effort to deny the availability of critical data and/or systems. Ransomware is frequently delivered through spear phishing emails to end users, resulting in the rapid encryption of sensitive files on a corporate network. When the victim organization determines they are no longer able to access their data, the cyber perpetrator demands the payment of a ransom, typically in virtual currency such as Bitcoin, at which time the actor will purportedly provide an avenue to the victim to regain access to their data.

Apart from those, another growing threat to children and youth is the increase in instances of online predators. This is, perhaps, by far the most dangerous of the lot given it could lead to more serious crimes like child sex abuse, production of child sex abuse material (CSAM), kidnapping, rape, drug abuse-related crimes, human trafficking, murder, etc. As convenient as the internet is to the rest of us, it’s important to remember that the very same tool may also be easily misused by those with malicious intentions.

Basic Tips To Protect Yourself From Cyber Crime

One of the ways in which the government and law enforcement agencies in the United States are combating cyber threats is by closing the gaps in intelligence and information security networks that could be exploited by criminals. The FBI works with federal counterparts, foreign partners, and the private sector to close those gaps. It says that it fosters a “team approach” through unique hubs where government, industry, and academia form long-term trusted relationships to combine efforts against cyber threats.

Within the government, that hub is the National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF). The FBI leads this task force of more than 30 co-located agencies from the intelligence community and law enforcement. The NCIJTF is organized around mission centers based on key cyberthreat areas and is led by senior executives from partner agencies. Through these mission centers, operations and intelligence are integrated for maximum impact against U.S. adversaries.

Then there are other various measures, including the Justice Department’s actions that we mentioned earlier in the piece, that the government and law enforcement agencies have taken. The DOJ has also taken several other steps in the battle against cybercrime. Biometrica wrote about those in an earlier story, which can be found here. In the meantime, what can individuals do to make it tougher for cybercriminals to target them?

Here are a few basic tips from the FBI to protect your computer/laptops and other devices:

Keep Your Firewall Turned On — A firewall helps protect your computer from hackers who might try to gain access to crash it, delete information, or even steal passwords and other sensitive information. Software firewalls are widely recommended for single computers. For multiple networked computers, hardware routers typically provide firewall protection.

Install or Update Your Antivirus Software — Antivirus software is designed to prevent malicious software programs from embedding into your computer. If it detects malicious code, like a virus or a worm, it works to disarm or remove it. Viruses can infect computers without users’ knowledge. Most types of antivirus software can be set up to update automatically.

Install or Update Your Antispyware Technology — Spyware is just what it sounds like: software that is surreptitiously installed on your computer to let others peer into your digital activities. Some spyware collects information about you without your consent or produces unwanted pop-up ads on your web browser. Some operating systems offer free spyware protection, and inexpensive software is readily available for download on the internet or at your local computer store. But be wary of ads on the internet offering downloadable antispyware.

Keep Your Operating System Up to Date — Computer operating systems are periodically updated to stay in tune with technology requirements and to fix security holes. Be sure to install the updates to ensure your computer has the latest protection.

Be Careful What You Download — Carelessly downloading e-mail attachments can circumvent even the most vigilant anti-virus software. Never open an e-mail attachment from someone you don’t know, and be wary of forwarded attachments from people you do know.

Turn Off Your Computer — With the growth of high-speed internet connections, many opt to leave their computers on and ready for action. The downside is that being “always on” renders computers more susceptible. Beyond firewall protection, which is designed to fend off unwanted attacks, turning the computer off effectively severs an attacker’s connection — be it spyware or a botnet that employs your computer’s resources to reach out to other unwitting users.

Several States Make Moves On Legal Sports And Mobile Betting As NFL Season Jogs On

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

A number of states are gaining ground on legalizing sports betting, while others that have already done so are seeing soaring revenues. Here is a round-up of recent news on the casino, gaming, and sports betting front:

Iowa saw a record $280.9 million revenue from sports bets in October, the state’s Racing & Gaming Commission said Thursday, Nov. 4. The previous record was only set in September, with last month’s revenues beating that number by about $70 million. Experts say that five weekends of professional and college football were behind the surge in sportsbook revenue. The total for the fiscal year beginning July 1 now stands at $689.3 million, with the state having netted around $1.81 million in tax revenues so far.

The New York State Gaming Commission is set to meet on Monday, Nov. 8, on the issue of awarding mobile sports licenses. It is not clear yet who the recommended operators or platform providers are, though some reports say “at least two groups that have a total of nine operators between them have been given paperwork tied to their selection.” Also expected to come up are the public comments on the rules regulating mobile sports betting.

Similarly, lawmakers in Mississippi are working on a mobile betting app bill to boost its regional competitiveness. Neighboring Louisiana has already opened up its first sportsbooks and hopes to have mobile sports betting up and running by the end of the year, putting gaming operators in Mississippi on edge as they worry about losing out on revenue. The draft bill will focus on protecting brick-and-mortar casinos in the state.

Racing & Gaming Commission of Nebraska, on the other hand, has announced that a final draft of casino regulations will be released in a week’s time, on Nov. 12. Voters in the state approved a measure to legalize casino gambling at horse racing tracks last year, and since then the commission has spoken to consultants, the gaming industry, and the public. A public hearing on the proposed rules will be held on Dec. 17 and tracks will likely not be able to apply for licenses until early in the new year.

The state gaming commission in Maryland approved on Thursday, Nov. 4, the sports-waging operators that are partnered with five casinos that are still waiting for their licenses to be awarded by the Sports Wagering Application Review Commission. This delays the launch of sports betting in the state, which advocates are hoping will still happen in time for the NFL playoffs and Super Bowl in the first few weeks of 2022.

North Carolina is still pushing its own legislation on legalizing sports betting, with a bill from the state Senate re-emerging in the House on Thursday after a committee approved its passing. It now will have to move through three other House committees before the overall chamber can vote on it. The Senate approved the measure in August. Experts say that sports betting is already occurring in the state and not legalizing it is depriving the state of valuable tax revenue.

In Arizona, Friday, Nov. 5, marks the first time a sportsbook at a tribal casino in the Phoenix area goes live. The Vee Quiva, a Gila River Indian Community casino, will open the BetMGM sportsbook at 9:30 am. The first sportsbooks in the state opened earlier this year, in September, but this will mark the first time in Phoenix that a sportsbook is open at “an operating casino where gamblers have other gambling options.”

Residents in Minnesota will have to wait until at least the next session to see any movement on legal sports wagers, however, with some lawmakers saying they are committed to reintroducing bills on this front when they get a chance.

Meanwhile, a top State Senator in Missouri is hoping that pressure from professional sports teams in St. Louis and Kansas City to legalize sports betting could help ban the illegal slot machines that have become increasingly popular at gas stations and liquor stores. The debate over these issues has been going on for three years now but has not yet come to a final vote.

Looking Further At Campus Police And Their Role In Tracking Violent Crime

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

In 2019, the last year for which data is available, a total of 5,998 post-secondary institutions (across almost 11,000 campuses) reported 34,933 criminal offenses to the federal government, and 17,758 offenses related to violence against women, be that rape, murder, assault, stalking, or date rape.

A few weeks ago, we wrote about the case of Kristin Smart and how her 1996 disappearance led to monumental legislative change in the state of California, in regards to the relationship between law enforcement agencies and campus police/safety organizations. Today, we examine the Crime Awareness and Campus Security Act of 1990 (CACSA), which governs crime reporting requirements for universities that receive federal aid. 

Pseudo-police departments had started to crop up at universities in the 1960s and 1970s, when protest movements for civil rights and against the Vietnam War were common. These units were conceived with the understanding that they would have closer ties to the campus community than larger law enforcement agencies, and would thus maybe be more effective.

Also considered a “consumer protection law,” CACSA was designed to boost transparency in relation to potential dangers on university campuses, making amendments to the Higher Education Act of 1965. It was later renamed, in 1998, to the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act, in honor of the eponymous student. When Congress reauthorized the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) in 2013, it further enhanced the Clery Act.

Jeanne Clery was raped and murdered in her own dorm room in 1986, by another student she did not know. Lehigh University, Clery’s school, had not disclosed information to students or the public about 38 violent crimes that had occurred on campus in the three years before her murder, prompting her parents to call for CACSA to be enacted.

Clery’s murder was a pivotal moment in changing the approach to safety on campuses, as was the 2007 rampage at Virginia Tech, which was the deadliest mass shooting in the nation for a significant period afterward. Notorious incidents such as this, and the Kristin Smart disappearance, prompted legislative change that, in turn, necessitated expanding campus police departments to keep up with federal reporting guidelines.

Under the Clery Act, all post-secondary institutions that receive Title IV financial assistance have to report statistics on crimes that occur on campus to students, the public, and the federal government. As noted in the table below, the crimes that require reporting include motor vehicle theft, drug use, illegally carrying weapons, and hate crimes, among others. The reauthorization of VAWA also added reporting requirements for crimes against women, such as dating violence, domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Table source: The Department of Education

The data and statistics specified under the Clery Act are compiled in an Annual Security Report (ASR) that can usually be found on the university’s website. The campus crime statistics are compiled using Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) guidelines for the Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) system, Hate Crime reports, the now-defunct Summary Reporting System (SRS), and the National Incident-Based Reporting System (NIBRS). This ASR must be submitted to the Department of Education. Campus security authorities (CSAs) are also required to update daily crime logs within two days of a report being made (excepting in cases when sensitivity and confidentiality are paramount).

Table source: The Department of Education

In addition, campus police are required to make emergency notifications to all those on campus under certain circumstances, which might include violence on campus or an incident like a school shooting where danger is imminent. For crimes listed under the Clery Act and that “represent an ongoing threat,” campus police must issue timely warnings to students. This can include instances where a stranger sexually assaults someone on campus. The following chart identifies the differences between emergency notifications and timely warnings:

Table source: The Department of Education

It is important to note that an institution does not have to investigate every report made — that is up to their discretion. But reports must be recorded in a transparent manner, while also anonymizing the victim’s information to protect them. Those colleges that fail to comply with requirements could face a review by the Department of Education and, if found to be lax, could be fined over $30,000.

In Smart’s case, she had been missing for several days before campus police took any action, erroneously believing she had returned home over the Memorial Day weekend. Technically, the Clery Act requires that universities lay out a roadmap for missing students cases, including a list of people missing persons should be reported to. Such cases could be immediately referred to the CSA or to the local law enforcement agency if there is no CSA, per the law.

With educational institutions reopening following Covid-19 lockdowns and gun violence increasingly targeting teens and young adults, the role of campus police is under further scrutiny, perhaps in a way it hasn’t been since CSAs were first established a handful of decades ago.

You can find further Clery Act requirements here.

You can find crime data for various institutions here.

Justice Department Stepping Up Firepower To Combat Cyber Crime

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is stepping up its firepower in the fight against the rapidly growing threat of ransomware attacks and cybercrime. This news comes as President Joe Biden’s administration escalates its response to what it considers an urgent economic and national security threat. In an interview with the Associated Press, DOJ Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said that “in the days and weeks to come, you’re going to see more arrests,” more seizures of ransom payments to hackers, and additional law enforcement operations.

The United States has repeatedly faced various kinds of cyberattacks in recent times, with targets ranging from infrastructure to education, and mostly due to criminals wielding ransomware. Monaco’s interview with the Associated Press also comes only a month after news that Amazon-owned gaming platform Twitch suffered a “highly targeted attack” that revealed a large trove of sensitive data, including Twitch’s entire source code and several years of payout information for the service’s most popular streamers.

What baffled and worried cybersecurity experts when the Twitch hack happened was its scale. “How on earth did someone exfiltrate 125 GB of the most sensitive data imaginable without tripping a single alarm,” asked Archie Agarwal, founder and CEO at New Jersey cybersecurity firm ThreatModeler per a Guardian article. And the Twitch attack is not the only recent massive data breach of a gaming company, which appears to be the latest in a growing line of industries that have repeatedly been attacked by cybercriminals over the past year.

In September, vpnMentor reported that its research team had discovered a data breach belonging to Chinese mobile gaming company EskyFun. Here, too, the scale of the attack had many worried, to say the least. Over one million Android gamers were estimated to have been potentially exposed to fraud, hacking, and much worse by this data breach. What complicated matters in this case, per the vpnMentor report, was that much of the data was incredibly sensitive and was stored on an unsecured server, raising questions around why a video game company needed to keep such detailed files on its users at all.

The United States is at an “inflection point” in terms of cyber threats, Monaco said at the DOJ’s Criminal Division’s fifth Cybersecurity Roundtable last month. At that event, she also emphasized that the need for collective action to combat cyber threats has never been greater.

In her interview with the Associated Press, Monaco said the DOJ’s measures come even as the U.S. continues to endure a “steady drumbeat” of attacks, despite President Biden’s admonitions last summer to Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin after a spate of lucrative attacks were linked back to Russia-based hacking gangs. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, though, said there was a “discernible decrease” in attacks emanating from Russia but that it was too soon to say why, according to the Associated Press.

Even so, Monaco said the DOJ is not going to stop and will continue to press forward and hold those who seek to “go after our industries, hold their data hostage and threaten economic security, national security and personal security” accountable.

Monaco said the public should expect to see more seizures like the one the DOJ pulled off in the Colonial Pipeline attack. On May 10, a group of cybercriminals went after the company, which supplies roughly 45% of the fuel consumed on the East Coast in an attack whose immediate aftermath left the company with no choice but to shut down its entire network. Colonial Pipeline paid more than $4 million in ransom, but the DOJ managed to get the majority of it back by seizing access to the cryptocurrency wallet used by the criminals, known as DarkSide. It’s these types of seizures that Monaco now says everyone should expect.

Last month, Monaco also announced that the DOJ and other law enforcement agencies were looking for the public’s help in fending off such attacks. Given the nature of cybercrime, the threat environment, and the stakes involved, the DOJ and other agencies cannot do this alone, she had said. “We need reporting from victims to address this threat, to prevent additional victims.”

The DOJ has also taken several other steps in the battle against cybercrime. Biometrica wrote about those in an earlier story, which can be found here.

White House Outlines Strategy To Prevent Gun-Related Suicides

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

Yesterday, Nov. 3, the Biden Administration announced a set of three actions it will take to help prevent suicide by use of firearms, in an effort to curb one key aspect of the broader gun violence epidemic the country is facing. Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), gun violence is among the leading causes of death for people of all ages in the U.S. While homicides and other violent crimes have increased in recent months, suicide has long been the most common outcome of gun violence, reports say.

While homicides and mass shootings tend to make the news, the majority of all gun deaths in the U.S. every year are actually suicides. The CDC said that in 2019 there were 39,707 firearm-related deaths nationwide, amounting to about 109 deaths per day. Six in ten of these were suicides.

In addition, guns are the leading method of suicide in the U.S., accounting for roughly half of all suicide deaths. Simply being able to access a firearm can triple the risk of death by suicide, per some estimates.

The new strategy from the White House focuses mainly on public awareness and education on the importance of safely storing firearms. It is estimated that 20% of American gun owners never lock up their firearms, with some studies pegging this number at nearly half (46%) of all gun owners. In states that require guns to be stored safely, there has been noted a 68% lower suicide rate, according to one 2015 study.

The reason for this focus is that reportedly suicide crises or the urge to commit suicide can be brief, so just removing access to a firearm during that period can actually save a person’s life.

The first prong of the new suicide prevention strategy focuses on military personnel and veterans by way of lethal means safety. This is not surprising when one takes into account that veterans accounted for 6,261 or 13.7% of all suicides among adults in the U.S. in 2019, the last year for which data is available, per the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Further, the average number of suicides per day among veterans rose 4.5% between 2001 and 2019.

“Lethal means safety,” the VA says, is an “intentional, voluntary practice to reduce one’s suicide risk by limiting access to” objects that “can be used to inflict self-directed violence” (e.g., medications, firearms, sharp instruments, etc.). The Departments of Defense (DOD), Health and Human Services (HHS), Homeland Security (DHS), and Justice (DOJ), and the Office of Emergency Medical Services within the Department of Transportation (DOT) have been directed to improve awareness, training, and education on lethal means safety, with the help of “expert guidance” from data.

The second part of the strategy is designed to make it easier for firearms owners to buy safe gun storage lockers or devices. The DOJ will soon issue a concrete rule on the “statutory obligations” of firearms dealers when it comes to selling gun storage or safety devices, the White House says. The federal government also aims to create maps to help individuals looking to store their guns safely outside their houses. 

And lastly, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will be making available to all licensed federal firearms dealers a guide on the legal requirements for promoting the safety of individuals and the community, as well as measures they are “encouraged” to take. This includes educational material that can be passed onto customers, a reminder of the DOJ’s “zero-tolerance approach to willful violations of the Gun Control Act,” rules regarding background checks for all firearms transfers, what disqualifies someone from buying or owning a firearm; and how to limit the risk of firearms being lost or stolen.

As we wrote last month, there is currently no comprehensive federal law that mandates guns be stored safely at home, nor are there any federal minimum standards for gun storage or safety devices. An executive order from 2013 asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to “review the effectiveness of gun locks and gun safes, including existing voluntary industry standards, and take any steps that may be warranted to improve the standards,” but no concrete legislation has emerged from this.

The 2005 Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act makes it illegal for a gun manufacturer, dealer, or importer to sell or transfer a handgun unless the recipient is “provided with a secure gun storage or safety device.” It does not, however, mandate that the recipient use the security device. This provision does not apply to transfers or sales between federal firearms licensees or private sellers, nor for federal, state, or local law enforcement officers or agencies.

On a state level, the laws and requirements vary. The broad types of safe storage laws include firearms being kept locked up; dealer sales including locks; private sales including locks; and minimum standards for locks. Individual cities like San Francisco and New York City have their own rules for gun storage.

Many states also have child access prevention (CAP) laws. These are mostly retroactive laws that make a person criminally or civilly liable if they fail to store guns safely away from children. One study by the RAND Corporation found CAP laws might help lower gun suicide and accidental shooting rates in the states that have them. Another estimated that, among children aged 14–17, CAP laws lowered overall suicide rates by around 8% and firearm suicide rates by 11%.

Currently, 27 states and D.C. have some form of CAP law. CAP laws vary in strength and penalties for violating them. In California, a person is criminally liable if a minor is “likely to gain access to a negligently stored firearm,” regardless of whether the minor actually does access it. On the other end of the spectrum, in Georgia, a parent or guardian is just prohibited from directly giving a minor a firearm. 

Gun violence costs America an estimated $300 billion a year in hospital bills, lost productivity, insurance, etc., according to some research reports. 

The History Of Crime Scene Evidence Collection, And The FBI’s ERTs

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By Deepti Govind

From around the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century, a French forensic scientist developed several key scientific methods of analysis that are still in use and remain one part of the bedrock of forensic science. Dr. Edmond Locard was born in Saint-Chamond on Nov. 13, 1877. His first job was assisting a criminologist and professor. Through the early days of his career, Locard partnered with anthropologist Alphonse Bertillon, who was known for his system of identifying criminals based on their body measurements, and even worked as a medical examiner.

In 1910, the Lyon Police Department is said to have granted Locard the opportunity to create the first crime investigation laboratory where he could analyze evidence from crime scenes in a previously unused attic space. Over a research career that continued until his death in 1966, Locard pioneered what has become a critical aspect of the criminal investigation and justice process. Even today, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) acknowledges and credits Locard’s biggest contribution to forensic science while talking about its Evidence Response Teams (or ERTs): Locard’s Exchange Principle.

What exactly does this principle say and how was it used in Locard’s days, when were ERTs established in the United States, and how do these critical FBI teams work? We answer those questions in this piece.

Locard’s Exchange Principle

Locard is said to have written many publications during his lifetime, including a seven-volume series called Traité de Criminalistique or Treaty of Criminalistics. He’s the one who said various scientific processes — chemistry, biology, physics, metallurgy, etc. — should be applied to crime scenes, Supervisory Special Agent Gene Lanzillo, a veteran FBI ERT member and instructor with the Evidence Response Team Unit (ERTU) said in an episode of the Bureau’s Inside the FBI podcast series.

As we mentioned earlier, though, Locard’s biggest contribution to the world of forensic science was a theory that came to be known as Locard’s Exchange Principle. The basic idea sounds simple enough to us today: every single contact leaves a trace. It is on the basis of that principle that even today across the country law enforcement agencies, whether it’s the FBI or a three-person police department out in the middle of Iowa, are all doing the same thing: looking for that contact.

What exactly did Locard write, or say, about this principle? Although over time it has come to be understood with the shortened phrase “with contact between two items, there will be an exchange,” that’s not what Locard wrote down. What he did write was: “It is impossible for a criminal to act, especially considering the intensity of a crime, without leaving traces of this presence.” In other words, Locard believed that no matter where criminals go or what they do, they are bound to leave something at the scene of the crime. At the same time, they also end up taking something away with them.

A post on HowStuffWorks goes on to describe a true crime example of how Locard tested his principle out during one of his investigations from the year 1912, which also gives an interesting example of how forensic science and evidence collection helps. Here’s an edited version of the example on HowStuffWorks:

A Frenchwoman named Marie Latelle was found dead in her parents’ home. The police had questioned her boyfriend at the time, Emile Gourbin, but he claimed he had been playing cards with some friends the night of the murder. And after the friends were questioned, Gourbin’s alibi appeared to check out. But when Locard looked at the corpse, he was led to believe otherwise. An examination of Latelle’s body led to clear evidence that she was strangled to death. Locard had also scraped underneath Gourbin’s fingernails for skin cell samples.

He later viewed the results of those samples underneath a microscope and noticed a bit of pink dust among the samples, which he established was make-up of some sort. Although makeup was popular in 1912, it was by no means mass-produced, and this was reason enough for Locard to dig a little deeper. He eventually found a chemist who developed a custom powder for Latelle, and a match was made. Gourbin confessed to the murder and to the fact that he had tricked his friends into going along with his alibi by setting the clock in the game room ahead.

Source: FBI’s Inside the FBI podcast

The FBI’s Evidence Response Teams

There were ad hoc ERTs in the 1980s in the United States. The Bureau also has a history of making instructional videos to teach local law enforcement how to process crime scenes. But the first official ERTs were created before one major event, according to Special Agent Lanzillo — the Oklahoma City Bombing. What the Bureau teaches now in the ERT Basic Course is an amalgamation of art, science, and legal policies and requirements that’s both rooted in this past but also looks to the future.

ERTs are, effectively, a link between the crime scene and the investigating laboratory. They’re the “eyes and ears” of a case, according to Supervisory Special Agent Heather Thew per the FBI podcast. The FBI Laboratory — with facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, and Quantico, Virginia — employs some of the world’s foremost forensic science experts, the Bureau says. But it’s logically impossible to send them to every single crime scene the Bureau investigates. And that’s where ERTs come in. In a nutshell, the job of the ERTs is to collect evidence and get it to the Lab in the best condition possible. Of course, the practical application comes with its own set of challenges and nuances.

As the eyes and ears of a case, the ERTs are a case agent’s search team and have to identify evidence at the scene using various tools and techniques — such as alternate light sources, fingerprint techniques, looking for latent fingerprints, etc. Then the ERTs have to collect and preserve these things in the best condition possible. They also ensure crime scenes are closed off to potential outside contamination, document them in photos and drawings, and scour every inch for potential evidence. 

Another responsibility of the ERTs is to search for potential proof of foul play, including evidence they can see — like footprints in the snow or a gun that a perpetrator might’ve accidentally left behind — and other types of evidence that their specialized training teaches them how to illuminate, develop, or extract — such as blood spatter that suspects mistakenly think they’ve cleaned up enough to hide, latent fingerprints, and/or DNA. 

In the foundational training for ERT members, known as the ERT Crime Scene Administration and Management Basic Course, they are taught to use a 12-step process when approaching crime scenes. The first and the last steps bookend the investigative process and are: getting ready for the crime scene investigation and releasing the crime scene. The FBI podcast only partially lists the remaining 10 steps as taking entry, evidence, and exit photographs; creating a sketch of the scene; searching the scene; and recording and collecting evidence.

There’s flexibility with the 10 steps that happen in between. Sometimes, they may even occur simultaneously. For example, if we consider a house as the location of the crime, one ERT member could be sketching a diagram on the first floor of the house, while another bags evidence upstairs. The process is designed such that teams can process crime scenes in a methodical, detail-oriented way without needing excessive amounts of equipment, gear, and — most importantly — manpower. 

Every one of the FBI’s 56 field offices has its own ERT. The size of each team typically ranges from eight to 40 people, with the overall ERT community being around 2,100 FBI personnel strong, per the Bureau. Each field office’s special agent in charge controls its ERT and decides whether and how the team will deploy — either piecemeal or as a collective — in most cases. ERTs typically help out in various kinds of cases, ranging from recovery of human remains to body searches, to agent-involved shootings.

“Any time you have a source that requires a high level of sophistication and specificity, they may ask for the Evidence Response Team,” Special Agent Lanzillo says on the podcast. Under certain circumstances, the ERTU will also be in charge of deployments. This can happen during major events, and examples include the Las Vegas shooting, the Boston Marathon bombing, 9/11, or the Pulse Nightclub shooting. “We will, here as a Headquarters element, contact other divisions and say, ‘We need to deploy you in support of this,'” Lanzillo adds.

The goal of these teams, as Supervisory Special Agent Tom Duffy puts it, is to “take the jury and put them in there, looking over our shoulders virtually, as we encounter things and find things and document, so they’re confident that we processed it the correct way. They are confident that we found everything.” The efforts of ERTs on the ground can help ensure justice is served in the courtroom.

Within ERTs, there are also various sub-divisions like the Underwater Evidence Program, the Forensic Canine Program, and the Hazardous Evidence Response Team Program. We will explore these, and what it takes to be part of the Bureau’s ERTs in a separate piece in the future.

The Figures Who Made The World Series Of Poker, And The Way Forward

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By a Biometrica staffer

Earlier this week, the MGM Springfield, one of Massachusetts’ only casinos, officially reopened its poker tables after an 18-month hiatus that was prompted by Covid-19 restrictions. In doing so, it became the only casino in the state to offer poker to patrons, who had clamored for the reintroduction of the game for several months now.

Poker is, as we have written in the past, a game most beloved by Americans. In fact, Colonel Jacob Schenck, the erstwhile-U.S. minister to Great Britain in the 1870s, once called it America’s “national game.” At the moment, the World Series of Poker (WSOP) tournament is on at the Rio in Las Vegas, after taking a couple of years off.

Today, we conclude our mini-series on poker with a look at two key figures in the history of the game’s most prestigious tournament, and how poker can reach new heights by appealing to women.

Benny Binion

Benny Binion and his son Jack created the WSOP in 1970 at the Horseshoe Casino in Las Vegas, focusing on Texas Hold’em. For the next several decades, the Binion family retained control over the tournament, until around 2004, when the Horseshoe and the rights to the WSOP were sold. We have already detailed the history of the WSOP, but the story of the man who created it is truly incredible, with his legacy casting a long shadow over the competition for decades.

A sickly child, Benny Binion did not complete any formal learning, being sent, instead, on the road with his father, a horse trader. It was there that he learned how to trade horses and also had his encounters with gambling and card games, which were popular with those he met.

He moved to Dallas at the age of 24, looking to try his luck at becoming a horse trader. Over the course of his career there, he became involved in gambling operations and bootlegging, as well as with the mafia and local politicians. Accused of many murders in the 1930s and 1940s, his luck ran out when he attempted and failed to murder a competitor.

Binion promptly packed up his wife and five children and fled to Las Vegas, where he opened the Horseshoe Casino in 1951. It was not known, at the time, to be a particularly reputable or fancy establishment, but it did serve alcohol freely to patrons, drawing a sizable crowd. It also became famous for, among other things, “accepting any bet a player would put on the table.”

Horseshoe also developed a reputation for being extremely unfriendly towards cheaters, with those caught being physically “punished.” Binion’s reputation preceded him, with his exploits and murders being known. He even managed to escape unscathed after blowing up a former FBI agent in a parking garage in 1972, largely due to his well-connected network.

Between 1954 and 1957, Binion was thrown in jail for tax evasion related to his gambling operation in Texas. It was here he learned to read, and when he was released, he took on a “consultant” role, leaving the running of the casino to his sons and wife, as he was not allowed to hold a gambling license. He died on Christmas in 1989, at the age of 86.

Binion was known to be larger-than-life. A convicted felon, he still wielded firearms everywhere he went. With a cowboy hat, real gold coins serving as shirt buttons, and a swagger to match, the man was described as “tall,” “unshaven,” and “robust.” Even today, there remains a bronze statue of him across the street from the casino he founded.

The Moneymaker Effect

When Chris Moneymaker won the WSOP in 2003, the tournament had been losing fans and spectators alike. It was Moneymaker’s unexpected win that became, according to many, the defining moment in the history of the game. ESPN calls him “one of the most recognizable players in the history of poker,” while others say that there is “hardly a more important name in poker history.”

An amateur but passionate poker player and a full-time accountant from Tennessee, Moneymaker did not even expect to make the Main Event himself. In fact, at one point, he reached the final four of a satellite game and tried to exchange his seat for $8,000, which happened to be his outstanding credit card bill at the time. Moneymaker also did not have to pay the entry fee of $10,000, as he won his place through a series of satellite events.

A series of coincidences and well-meaning loved ones persuaded him to continue competing, leading him to Vegas, beating many better-known players along the way. That year, the Main Event had an extremely lucrative pot of $2.5 million and over 830 people competing for it, the largest number ever until that point.

Moneymaker’s final showdown was against Sam Farha, the favorite for many. His victory created the “Moneymaker effect,” in which millions of people across the world were inspired by him to try their hand at online poker to win big, especially without having to worry about exorbitant buy-ins.

Moneymaker still plays today, leveraging his win into endorsements and public appearances. He prefers lower-stakes small-buy-ins now, and enjoys the quiet life with his family.

Women In The WSOP

With an eye on the horizon, there are several experts who believe that opening up the game to the other half of the population is the key to fueling the game’s growth. At the moment, by nearly any measure, women make up a tiny part of the poker world. Most estimates place women as making up about 5% of the players in poker rooms. According to demographic data released by the WSOP, only 350 played in the 2019 Main Event out of 8,569 entrants (4.1%), and only 44 of them were age 30 or under.

Only three women have ever been inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame — Linda Johnson, Barbara Enright, and Jennifer Harman. Enright remains the only woman to ever make the final table of the WSOP Main Event (placing fifth in 1995). No woman has ever won more than three WSOP bracelets, while among the men, Phil Hellmuth holds the record with 15. The male all-time leader in career tournament earnings is Bryn Kenney, with more than $56 million. The highest-ranking woman is Vanessa Selbst in 70th place with just about $12 million.

The reasons behind this table game being so heavily skewed towards men are complicated. On one hand, in the early days, poker was considered just another gambling activity that gathered primarily shady characters, most of whom were men. Women had no place at the poker table, and their peers closely scrutinized the rare ones who tried to breach that barrier.

Others chalk it down to the notion that perhaps women are not as naturally aggressive as men, or that they haven’t traditionally had the same kind of discretionary income to gamble with. Definitely, some women players are turned off by what can be a “boys will be boys” atmosphere that sometimes verges into vulgar or even outright abusive, experts have said.

Either way, many say that it is just a matter of time before more women start breaking into the top tier of the WSOP. Bringing more women into poker “benefits the whole industry,” says Lena Evans, the founder of the women’s group Poker League of Nations. “It’s bigger prize pools, it’s bigger fields. That’s the goal basically is to help us all by bringing in more players. The only way you can do it is by supporting women.”

The Battle Against America’s Drug Abuse Crisis: A Round-up Of Recent Announcements

Posted on by kmurali@biometrica.com

By Deepti Govind

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), along with its law enforcement partners, said it removed nearly 745,000 lbs of unneeded prescriptions from medicine cabinets across the country under its National Prescription Drug Take Back Day program, which was held on Oct. 23. The program is part of the DEA’s efforts to stem the nation’s opioid epidemic. Since its inception until the most recent Take Back Day, the DEA has removed over 15.2 million lbs of medication from circulation.

On the same day as the DEA announcement, the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) announced funding of $44.5 million to support state-level law enforcement agencies in combating the illegal manufacturing and distribution of methamphetamine, heroin, and prescription opioids. The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), meanwhile, reiterated the multi-agency, coordinated international efforts involved in Operation Dark HunTor.

Why are these efforts more crucial than, perhaps, ever before? The nation’s drug abuse crisis is worsening per recent statistics, and reports of people being charged — including former physicians — for illegal distribution of opioids and other drug crimes are becoming a regular feature. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said more than 93,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States in 2020, marking the largest number of drug-related deaths ever recorded in a year. Aditionally, opioid-related deaths accounted for 75% of all overdose deaths last year.

While the fact that the nation is suffering from an illegal opioid epidemic is not new, a recent report published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) takes it further by assessing the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on the crisis.

The pandemic adversely impacted mental health, including by exacerbating the use of alcohol or drugs among people who had used drugs in the past year, according to SAMHSA’s National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH). It is estimated that 25.9 million past-year users of alcohol and 10.9 million past-year users of drugs other than alcohol reported they were using these substances “a little more or much more” than they did before the pandemic began, SAMHSA’s report adds.

To begin with, a majority of people who misused a prescription medication are said to have obtained the medicine from a family member or friend, the SAMHSA report says. That’s where programs like the DEA’s Take Back Day come in. “Take Back Day is a critical effort to curb the historic surge in U.S. overdoses. We know prevention starts at home. The simple step of clearing out medications that are no longer needed makes our homes safer, prevents prescription drug misuse, and, ultimately, can help save lives,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a statement.

The DEA’s most recent Take Back Day involved close to 5,000 collection sites nationwide, and the coming together of more than 4,200 state and local law enforcement partners to help the public rid their homes of unneeded medications that too often become a gateway to addiction. Last month, the DEA also issued a Public Safety Alert and launched the One Pill Can Kill public awareness campaign to warn Americans of a surge in deadly, fake prescription pills driven by drug traffickers.

Criminal drug networks are shipping chemicals from China to Mexico where they are converted to dangerous substances like fentanyl and methamphetamine and then pressed into pills, the DEA said.

“The end result—deadly, fake prescription pills—are what these criminal drug networks make and market to prey on Americans for profit. These fake, deadly pills are widely available and deadlier than ever. Fake pills are designed to appear nearly identical to legitimate prescriptions such as Oxycontin®, Percocet®, Vicodin®, Adderall®, Xanax® and other medicines. Criminal drug networks are selling these pills through social media, e-commerce, the dark web and existing distribution networks,” it added.

That’s where operations like Dark HunTor help. Last week, Biometrica wrote about the results of this massive 10-month operation: It led to over 150 arrests across the world and the seizure of 45 weapons, 234 kgs of drugs, and over $31 million in cash and virtual currencies. Around 65 of the arrests were carried out in the U.S. It is the largest and most successful operation the Joint Criminal Opioid and Darknet Enforcement (JCODE) has ever run, according to the DOJ.

It is rooted in the takedown of the website DarkMarket by German authorities earlier this year, in January. At the time, DarkMarket was the largest illegal marketplace on the darkweb. During that process, officials seized the site’s infrastructure, which proved to be a treasure trove of evidence. “Illicit darkweb marketplaces represent a significant threat to public health, economic, and national security,” ICE Acting Director Tae Johnson said in a statement.