Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: maker1234 on January 05, 2013, 06:27 am
-
I may be flamed for this, its a tough question with no clear answer, but here goes:
It seems that many people on this forum and on SR in general are very aware of the law, computer hacking, and drug use/culture. I can only say I have knowledge of the last one. Because there is such a variety of illegal things sold on SR, the level of anonymity is kept at the highest it can be, to guarantee safety for all. And that is how it should be.
BUT, My question is, how far will "the government" (I'm referring to the US) go to bust someone buying a trivial amount of nearly legalized drugs, say under an ounce of weed, mushrooms or lsd, or some other low level drug? Wouldn't it cost more in the long run, and be more labor intensive to detain or arrest someone for trivial drug purchases than simply not pursuing? Everyone smokes and sells weed where I live and it is practically subsidized by the government anyway! Never in my life have I heard of a mushroom drug bust. Is there really a need to transfer BC through multiple temporary wallets, send it through BitcoinFog, etc, for such low level drug purchases?
I guess the real question I ask is: How often, and for what, does the government actually intervene? I am a newb to this site, and with all the precautions and warnings, people seem a bit hypersensitive when it comes to security, for the amount of people that are actually getting caught. Am I freaking myself out unneccesarily? ARE people getting caught ordering things off SR?
-
I am a newb to this site, and with all the precautions and warnings, people seem a bit hypersensitive when it comes to security, for the amount of people that are actually getting caught.
Have you ever heard of a policy wonk? It's a person who likes studying the minutiae of legislation because it's fun for them. Some of us are, for lack of a better term, security wonks. We like exploring the theoretical details of security attacks, even though we recognize that they are not a part of our threat model.
Please don't let us scare you. A lot of this is mental masturbation. :)
BUT, My question is, how far will "the government" (I'm referring to the US) go to bust someone buying a trivial amount of nearly legalized drugs, say under an ounce of weed, mushrooms or lsd, or some other low level drug?
I guess the real question I ask is: How often, and for what, does the government actually intervene?
It depends on time, geography, funding, and legislative will.
The best guideline is to read your local paper and see what kinds of drugs and amounts are getting busted. That's what they care about.
-
We like exploring the theoretical details of security attacks, even though we recognize that they are not a part of our threat model. For example, I like reading about the TRESOR patch that puts encryption keys in CPU registers, even though I'm almost certain no one will ever do a cold boot attack against me.
Please don't let us scare you. A lot of this is mental masturbation. :)
A bit more than mental choking-the-python, astor. Yar, the dollar amount AU spends on simply running/maintaining counter-terrorism is in my text book but I've lost the page :-\ , but according to John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart at the Annual Convention of the Midwest Political Science Association 2011, outlays for state and local homeland security spending are approximately $10 billion per year, so if that puts anything into perspective it's that for a site with a reported turnover of $21.60-28M per annum depending on source, the absence of a little extra security on a site like Silk Road is almost worthy of being punished.
(SR is pretty tame when it comes to b-m selling, SR doesn't sell RPGs, SAMs, body parts or even munitions so I guess there isn't a HUGE "variety of illegal things sold on SR"; there's no shortage of hidden listings that provide this; I'd say SR is quite prudently reserved in its market.)
BUT, My question is, how far will "the government" (I'm referring to the US) go to bust someone buying a trivial amount of nearly legalized drugs, say under an ounce of weed, mushrooms or lsd, or some other low level drug? Wouldn't it cost more in the long run, and be more labor intensive to detain or arrest someone for trivial drug purchases than simply not pursuing? Everyone smokes and sells weed where I live and it is practically subsidized by the government anyway! Never in my life have I heard of a mushroom drug bust. Is there really a need to transfer BC through multiple temporary wallets, send it through BitcoinFog, etc, for such low level drug purchases?
I think so, yes, you might bloody think so, wouldn't you? Someone buying a trivial amount of nearly legalized drugs, say under an ounce of weed, mushrooms or lsd, is not how I would couch that, going on state expenditure rationale for c/t and SR revenue stats above, no, I wouldn't trivialise it like that. Hmm, how far will govt go, mmm, I would've guessed $21.60-28M per annum a non-trivial amount to pursue......
How often, and for what, does the government actually intervene? I am a newb to this site, and with all the precautions and warnings, people seem a bit hypersensitive when it comes to security, for the amount of people that are actually getting caught. Am I freaking myself out unneccesarily? ARE people getting caught ordering things off SR?
To me people in this b-m context don't seen hypersensitive about security, some things are just common sense; it would be out of place to see someone NOT be security conscious, it doesn't cost a great deal extra to exercise a bit of discretion here and there.
Piece out ragamuffins. Drive safely.
-
Two ways people get caught:
1) They run there damn mouth!! If you tell one person you mine as well tell everyone. Don't tell ANYONE you get shit in the mail.
2) The post office fucks up or you're package breaks and opens or dogs smell it and then controlled delivery.
A kid that i went to high school with got caught with 8 pounds in the mail because someone has the same name as him and it got delivered to the wrong house.
-
Personally I really can't see Law Enforcement at any level really care about 'personal amounts' of dope going through the mail. I still have yet to read a news article saying '42 year old cancer patient sentenced to 3 years for importing 3.5g of Marijuana.'
The cost associated with discovering such small amounts, documenting, warrants, cross border jurisdiction legalities, etc, etc. All for giving you a good behavior bond or maybe a $400 fine.
I really can't see why it is worth their while.
Saying that, if the dog goes off or X-Ray can clearly see something is wrong, I would expect at the very least a letter in the mail saying that you have attempted to import a restricted product.
-
Is there really a need to transfer BC through multiple temporary wallets, send it through BitcoinFog, etc, for such low level drug purchases?
I scratch my head over this advice myself. First of all, buying bitcoins isn't illegal. Buying bitcoins means nothing. Establishing an account with SR isn't illegal, and neither is sending bitcoins to your SR account. It's purchasing drugs and having them sent to you in the mail that's illegal. It seems to me that if LE detects your illegal activity somehow, it ain't gonna be the bitcoins that do you in.
For what it's worth, I've been on SR for a few months now and have yet to hear about anyone getting caught purchasing a small amount of weed through SR. I've made several such successful purchases myself, and plenty of people here have made many more. I also regularly google for media stories about SR, and what you are worried about just doesn't seem to be happening. Maybe it will be happening someday, but LE isn't there yet.
-
Is there really a need to transfer BC through multiple temporary wallets, send it through BitcoinFog, etc, for such low level drug purchases?
I scratch my head over this advice myself. First of all, buying bitcoins isn't illegal. Buying bitcoins means nothing. Establishing an account with SR isn't illegal, and neither is sending bitcoins to your SR account. It's purchasing drugs and having them sent to you in the mail that's illegal. It seems to me that if LE detects your illegal activity somehow, it ain't gonna be the bitcoins that do you in.
For what it's worth, I've been on SR for a few months now and have yet to hear about anyone getting caught purchasing a small amount of weed through SR. I've made several such successful purchases myself, and plenty of people here have made many more. I also regularly google for media stories about SR, and what you are worried about just doesn't seem to be happening. Maybe it will be happening someday, but LE isn't there yet.
Doesn't hurt to exercise a low profile. It's better for people not to know than to know and say, this could be used for drugs but technically might not. In my town, I daresay the majority would not even have heard of BTC or The Onion Router (Tor) and it would be easy to remember the 1 or 2 that do have BTC.
There's a lot of disinformation regarding Tor. "Darknet" for phuc sake. Straight out of Batman or something. They assume that if you use Tor you are looking ^ child pornography. Same with bitcoins. No, it's not illegal, but because some people use its anonymity to circumvent the law these armchair technologists will jump to yet another conspiracy theory-like conclusion and fore conclude everyone who buys BTC is ordering hits or buying off Silk Road. It's amazing how attention-seeking some people are.
So, I'd be keeping it on the DL myself, as low knowledge of subject matter + wild imagination + occurrence of a person obtaining bitcoins + nosy parker + jump to conclusion + resulting needless investigation = shit you just don't need, sister.
Prevention is better than cure.
Piece out. Bank safely.
-
I think this thread is brilliant. Good question, OP.
I am a newb to this site, and with all the precautions and warnings, people seem a bit hypersensitive when it comes to security, for the amount of people that are actually getting caught.
Have you ever heard of a policy wonk? It's a person who likes studying the minutiae of legislation because it's fun for them. Some of us are, for lack of a better term, security wonks. We like exploring the theoretical details of security attacks, even though we recognize that they are not a part of our threat model. For example, I like reading about the TRESOR patch that puts encryption keys in CPU registers, even though I'm almost certain no one will ever do a cold boot attack against me.
Please don't let us scare you. A lot of this is mental masturbation. :)
Mental masturbation is the best, though in my case not best done in public. lol
It depends on time, geography, funding, and legislative will. 10 years ago there was a lot of talk about the threat of ecstasy. It was seen as an epidemic. In 2001, the federal government quadrupled the length of sentences for ecstasy possession. There are probably more people doing ecstasy today, but the media, and consequently the legislative bodies, are not focused on it and don't care.
The best guideline is to read your local paper and see what kinds of drugs and amounts are getting busted. That's what they care about.
I would and do take this advice.
Sometimes I wonder why, if "they" control the media, do things they are *ehem* against get so much attention? I never knew so much about drugs until I experienced the D.A.R.E program, I think that's what actually got me hooked. At that point, I even thought crack was cool.
I also wonder what percentage of people who are active here found out about SR through mass media.
And why TOR and Bitcoin are associated with criminal activity like pleading the 5th is associated with being guilty.
Come to think of it, if anyone here hasn't seen it, I highly recommend Barry Cooper's series "Never get Busted" available on SR for super cheap. The video on how to speak to the police should be seen by everyone in America.
Cooper's slow to speak, but it's definitely worth getting a former narc officer's take on thangs.
If anyone knows of a similar book/dvd series that's more current, I'd like to know about it. I think I may start editing and mailing those vids out anon to anyone in the white pages.
Okay, back to lurking.....