More interesting and strange than I thought at first glance. Aussies in Wonderland.QuoteThe Australian Federal Police recently arrested a Melbourne man for allegedly importing drugs into Australia via Silk Road, which operates in the so-called "dark net" or "hidden web". He was charged with 10 offences relating to the importation, trafficking and possession of narcotics and prohibited weapons, and is due to appear in Melbourne Magistrates Court on October 24.The term "darknet" is not a term we invented. It's an academic term. It's a poor descriptor whose ethnology has changed over time, but I'm not sure what's "so-called" about it. Looks like some of your "so-called" research for this article.QuoteIn May the AFP and Customs seized 120 kilograms of illicit substances imported into Australia via the postal system during a three-month targeted operation. They arrested 25 people around the country. Another 12 people were arrested in Mount Isa in Queensland in June, also for importing drugs through the postal system.Nothing to do with SR for sure. The quantity and no. of arrests doesn't fit the model. SR vendors mostly employ swarm techniques due to economics and good sense. By the way, Australians seem to think AFP are big shots for some reason. This is an organization who only recently established a fingerprint sharing program last year. The technology has been around for a century and you guys are only getting your shit together, and barely at that, in 20 fucking 12. Proper detective work I can respect, but this is just sloppy organizational ability.QuoteBut Nigel Phair, a former cyber cop turned computer security consultant, who has just secured funding from the National Drug Law Enforcement Research Fund to look into the online drugs trade, says police need to make huge changes if they are going to make a dent in the problem.Cyber cop! Cyber cop! Like RoboCop or Judge Dread! Wait. Really? Unless his job experience lists the PRC as an employer I think this is basically a whiteknight civilian who discovered 4chan or something. Quote"There is a perception among many law enforcement and regulatory agencies that it is all too hard to conduct investigations involving Tor, so never start," said Phair."There needs to be much more training of general investigators in conducting technical lines of inquiry, including the purchase of forensic discovery equipment if we [as a jurisdiction] are going to make a dent in this problem."'forensic discovery' equipment, I have an glimmer of an intuition, he is not referring to something like cold boot attacks or HD forensics, all of which is run of the mill stuff for any comms forensics lab in existence , I am thinking this may be of a targeted adversarial nature like the hilariously and obviously illegal German implementation. They could think to get the drop on us so they may try to get funky. They're not used to people shoving back. This could be entertaining, because if they play dirty they'll get far more than they bargained for. You are not up against a largely soft power oriented collective like Anonymous with relatively short powers of concentration, you are up against the crypto-anarchists with a wealth of resources you can't even pronounce and a serious grudge with the assumptions of the State. Just because many believe in NAP doesn't make us a soft target. The state coordinates itself by means of being one giant central hierarchical entity. We don't. We'd only need to ever get past a threshold just once, and it'll be a digital massacre. QuoteBut since drugs are delivered by the post, anyone who uses Silk Road runs the risk of their parcel being intercepted by Customs and Border Protection and the AFP.It is not clear how many of the billions of parcels handled by Australia Post get scanned each year and Christin found that most sellers use techniques to make package inspection unlikely, such as vacuum sealing or "professional looking" envelopes with typed destination addresses. But police believe they are making a difference.That's what's important. Yep.QuoteWhile it is not an offence to access the Silk Road website, the AFP said anyone who imported border controlled drugs faced a maximum penalty of life imprisonment and/or a $825,000 fine.Ha, guess LE Aussies aren't familiar with the concept of blowback. These kinds of laws are absurd even to the most conservative conservatives because at that rate the death penalty is more humane. You might as well say "Y'all gonna get jailed for a million gazillion bajllion quintillion years with nuttin' but a television that shows only reruns of 'I Love Lucy'" for all the sense that makes. Throw in eternal torment and a gulag while you're at it. Unless of course your 20-somethings have almost a million AU dollars in their back pockets. Quote"Criminals are attempting to exploit the international mail system through online networks, but the recent arrest demonstrates that we are one step ahead of them," said AFP manager crime operations Peter Sykora.I think my jaw just dropped open of its own accord.Quote"The AFP will continue to identify, investigate and prosecute individuals or groups importing narcotics into Australia, including via illicit e-commerce platforms such as Silk Road."Not too well read either. Narcotics are drugs like codeine, heroin, opium, morphine etc i.e. the opiates. Not cocaine, weed, MDMA etcThe vast majority of drugs SR sells are not narcotics. Guess we're mostly off the hook then.QuoteAlana Sullivan, acting national manager in the Customs cargo and maritime targeting branch, said Customs monitored illicit e-commerce platforms including Silk Road and was aware of the Australian presence on the site as both sellers and buyers."Persons who buy or sell through online marketplaces on so-called 'anonymous' networks should understand that they are not guaranteed anonymity," Sullivan said.They're like your parents. They just know man. They just do. So you better 'fess up now or you'll be in even more trouble later.What kind of fucking pop psychology is this? You are 'aware' of us? You are 'cognizant' of our presence? Yeah.Could be. I mean, it is kind of your fucking job.QuoteBut it is understood that authorities have difficulty identifying the source websites linked to seizures (such as Silk Road) due to the fact that intercepted parcels often do not have identifying features.whatisthisIdonteven.jpgQuotePolice rely on finding documentary or forensic evidence to link a seizure to a particular site, or an admission by the offender on arrest, which is not always forthcoming.No fucking shit Mr Tell_me_everything_so_I'll_lock_ya_away_for_the_rest_of_your_natural_life_and_give_you_a_fine_too, sir.If you weren't incommunicado your lawyer/public defender's next step is to obtain a certification of insanity or mental retardation for yours truly.Even Topix knows you STFU. Topix. Pine has actually said a good word about it. I think they evolved that tactic purely from the forces of natural selection, but even so the instinct is correct. [wiki citation: 6th paragraph quote up]QuoteUS authorities have shut down another anonymous drug trade site, the Farmer's Market, and in April indicted its eight owners. Farmer's Market was much smaller than Silk Road is now, doing about $1 million in sales between January 2007 and October 2009. It also used less-than-anonymous PayPal and Western Union for payment as opposed to the encrypted Bitcoins.But Phair, whose report on the online drug trade will be completed in 12 months, said he believed "the problem will continue to grow as it is perceived as a safe and secure method to buy and sell illicit drugs".97.51% QuoteThe AFP says it does not have jurisdiction to investigate websites based overseas, so it is unlikely to be able to shut down Silk Road.It said it could refer matters for investigation to overseas counterparts but could not compel them to act.Wait wat.There's this international network of computers interlinked by radiowaves and intercontinental copper/fibre cables, I just forget its name, what could it be? God I always forget this stuff, it just slips to the back of my mind like the location of my lost keys or...Oh yeah! The fucking INTERNET. Phew, I thought my memory was going there for a momento. How does the AFP know SR is a hidden service based overseas? On the basis The Princess Bride wasn't filmed in Australia? Do our Tor data packets neglect to have "AU" stamped on them? What? This is a legitimate question.