In an effort to combat crime on the dark web, multiple law enforcement agencies have come together to create the Dark Web Team. Europol announced yesterday that it will work with European Union partners and global law enforcement agencies to reduce financial crime and fraud.
An event on 29 May marked the official launch of the new Europol Dark web team. Stakeholders from the European Commission, Interpol and Eurojust joined law enforcement agencies from 28 countries and expressed their enthusiasm for expanding their efforts to reduce cybercrime.
Through the European Cybercrime Centre (C3), Europol has been actively monitoring the dark web for several years. Investigations into underworld shops have yielded a range of tools, tactics and techniques used by cybercriminals.
As a result, Europol, in collaboration with other agencies, successfully shut down AlphaBay and Hansa, two of the largest trading sites, responsible for the exchange of over 350,000 illegal goods, including drugs, weapons, hacking tools and more. This success has led to a decrease in the number of illegal transactions, with Europol reporting that some similar platforms have been shut down for fear of being caught.
The Dark Web Team, dedicated to its goal, will share information through a coordinated approach, allowing the various agencies to provide operational support and varying degrees of expertise in the wide range of crimes committed daily in cyberspace.
