Drug trade in Darknet becoming more professional, says cybersecurity expert

David Jacoby, senior security researcher of Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab. Photo from Kaspersky Lab

SINGAPORE — The drug trade in the Darknet is becoming more professional, with buyers now able to rate the quality of the shipment of illegal drugs and the service of the seller, a cybersecurity expert said.

According to David Jacoby, senior security researcher at cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab, the increasing professionalization in the selling of illegal drugs makes it more difficult for authorities to trace those behind the trade.

“Think about it. If you would buy drugs from someone in the street, there is no way that you can rate that seller. You cannot give five stars or two stars. But now on these online platforms, people are actually rating the criminals as well,” he told INQUIRER.net on Tuesday at the sidelines of the Security Analyst Summit hosted here by Kaspersky Lab.

“They are rating a person who is selling illegal drugs like this drug is good, this is bad, the service is good, the shipping is good. It’s crazy, but it’s just like a normal shop,” he also said.

Because of the rating system and other innovations by cybercriminals, the quality of service in selling illegal drugs and the quality of other prohibited items are becoming better compared to those sold in the streets, said Jacoby.

Selling drugs online is not new, but according to Jacoby, drug pushers are now moving from standard websites into the Darknet, “because [in this platform, they] have the anonymity and have the payment with different types of cryptic currencies.”

“Its kind of weird that it’s becoming professional and difficult for the police to actually find it,” he said, adding that the practice is being done globally.

Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Director General Aaron Aquino did not confirm if this kind of rating system is also being practiced in the Philippines but said that some drug pushers in the country do sell illegal drugs online.

“You can buy illegal drugs online in the comfort of your home,” he said in a text message on Wednesday.

Even Steve Pasion, one of the suspected top dealers of party drugs in Metro Manila, was also selling illegal drugs in the Darknet, according to the PDEA chief.

Pasion was killed in a buy-bust operation in Manila last March and is said to be a supplier of drugs to celebrities.

Aquino said his agency had asked the United States’ Drug Enforcement Administration to train the PDEA, Philippine National Police, Armed Forces of the Philippines, and the National Bureau of Investigation to deal with the drug trade in the Darknet.

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