Parallel universe of 'Dark Web' dealings
Play
After the US arrest Wednesday of 29-year-old Ross William Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts, DPR and Altoid), we found out: There is part of the Internet called the Dark Web; there is an electronic currency called bitcoins; and there is an emerging (or r
DPR administered the Silk Road website and used a virtual private network (VPN) and a false IP address to cover his tracks. And he combined that with special software (Tor or variants) on the Dark Web, which is sometimes also used by journalists and activists for anonymity.
Bitcoins are an electronic currency that can be used within specific parameters; some people invest in bitcoins as they would in dollars or baht. Again, some anonymity is pro?vided by the use of bitcoins.
Among other alleged crimes, DPR used his set-up to order and pay for a murder; and, he was a bitcoin millionaire.
DPR and colleagues seem to be part of an international and educated sector that sees itself as pursuing a new form of capitalism in which everything, even death, can be bought or sold without shame or guilt, although there is really nothing new about that idea.
Let’s hope that elected and recognised advocates of democracy do not go that far in the name of democracy (oops, too late).
Why does DPR remind me of the NSA?
Guy Baker
Bangkok
