German authorities shut down illegal darknet marketplace
Dec 21, 2023
Berlin [Germany], December 21: German authorities have shut down the server infrastructure of the illegal darknet marketplace "Kingdom Market," the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) said on Wednesday.
The marketplace was spread across several countries, and mainly traded in illegal narcotics, but was also used to "profitably advertise malware, criminal services, and forged documents," BKA said.
More than 42,000 products were offered on the marketplace, including around 3,600 products from Germany. "Tens of thousands of customer accounts and several hundred seller accounts were registered on the marketplace," BKA said.
Users of "Kingdom Market" paid with cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Monero and Zcash. The operators, who received a three-percent commission for processing the sales, are suspected of operating a criminal trading platform on the internet, and of illicit trafficking in narcotics.
During the internationally coordinated operation, BKA and the Central Office for Combating Cybercrime (ZIT) worked closely with authorities from the United States, Switzerland, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine.
The cybersecurity situation in Germany "remains tense," and cyberattacks with ransomware remain the biggest threat, the Ministry of the Interior said when presenting a report on IT security in the country at the beginning of November.
"Digitalization makes many things easier in our everyday lives," said Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser. At the same time, new areas of vulnerability were created. "Cybersecurity is central for our society and affects every one of us."
Source: Xinhua
