The rampant sale of surveillance data highlights systemic corruption in China’s public sector. With average annual salaries hovering around $30,000, the promise of earning a third of that amount in a single day is a strong lure for insiders. Many wealthy Chinese are already moving out of China to countries like Singapore due to China’s growing political rhetoric of “common prosperity” and “going after the entrepreneurs”, and also in response to severe COVID-19 lockdowns. Recorded Future has obtained the sample data shared by ChinaDan, and can confirm that the data includes full names, home addresses, birthplaces, national ID Numbers, mobile numbers, and crime/case details that date from as far back as 1995 to as recent as 2019. Our preliminary assessment of the data sample indicates that the data appears to be authentic. However, given the purported size of the data package, it is impossible to ascertain whether the entire package is what it is advertised to be.
2 Thematic Clusters Based On Keyword Co-occurrence
No relationship is created with you, nor any duty of care assumed to you, when you use this blog. The blog is not a substitute for obtaining any legal, financial or any other form of professional advice from a suitably qualified and licensed advisor. The information on this blog may be changed without notice and is not guaranteed to be complete, accurate, correct or up-to-date. Our research shows that it is likely that some Chinese brokers are actively involved in the sale of chemicals on the darknet.
The Internet’s Biggest-Ever Black Market Just Shut Down Amid A Telegram Purge

The growing adoption of industrial robotics in the dark factories enables continuous automated production with minimal human intervention. These robots enhance precision, speed, and consistency in manufacturing, helping companies reduce costs and improve efficiency. As demand for scalable and error-free production grows, industrial robotics continues to reshape the future of the dark factory industry. Nemesis was established in 2021 and operated as a criminal marketplace on the darknet, an encrypted network within the Internet that can only be accessed with special anonymity-enhancing browsers. Drug traffickers active on Nemesis sold fentanyl around the world, both on its own and surreptitiously laced into other drugs.
It also laid out conditions companies must abide by to collect personal data, including obtaining an individual’s consent, and it also laid out guidelines for ensuring data protection when data is transferred outside the country. The law further called for handlers of personal information to designate an individual in charge of personal information protection, and also called for handlers to conduct periodic audits to ensure compliance with the law. The implementation of PIPL came after the passage of the Data Security Law (DSL), which came into effect on September 21, 2021, and set a framework for companies to classify data based on its economic value and relevance to China’s national security.
Dark Factories Market Size & Trends
Darknets and dark markets have propelled the growth of cybercrime by offering a platform for the sale and exchange of malicious tools and services. Cybercriminals use these platforms to traffic in stolen data, execute targeted ransomware attacks, and collaborate on advanced hacking techniques. Nation-state actors, too, leverage darknets for espionage and cyber warfare, capitalizing on the obscurity and untraceability they provide. Dark markets, on the other hand, are platforms within darknets where illicit transactions occur.
The Typologies Report
The nodes’ size represents the SDG frequency in terms of total publications, and the thickness of the edges represents the frequency of co-citation between SDG. Based on the keywords in this cluster, as seen in Table 5, the theme of Cluster 2 is Cybercrime, Data Privacy, and Cryptography and is closely connected to the illicit drug trade on the Darknet. Cybercrime tools and techniques, like using encrypted communication channels and anonymous online identities, are commonly employed by drug traffickers to protect their identities and evade detection. No companies have invested in fully-automatic a manufacturing plant yet, but there are plenty of instances of pushes to increase automation from companies like Tesla and Hyundai. Tesla has made strides in the field of robotics with developments like the Optimus Bot and the use of robotics and AI in its Gigafactories.
Customers can then cash in those credits to carry out searches based on identifiers ranging from names or email addresses to phone numbers to usernames on China’s QQ, WeChat, or Weibo social networks. Chang’An Sleepless Night is a rising dark web marketplace known for its diverse listings, from stolen data to hacking services. The platform’s user-friendly interface, escrow service, and adaptability to multiple cryptocurrencies make it a preferred choice for many users. Our team searched the dark web and put together a list of the most active dark web marketplaces in order to assist you in monitoring illegal trade of products, cybercrime activity, and dark web trends in the dark web space.
Cyble Titan Endpoint Security
We recently commissioned multiple market research reports from IMARC, and the insights we received were invaluable. The depth of analysis, accuracy of data, and actionable recommendations have greatly enhanced our strategic decision-making. One of the best things about IMARC is their flexibility and predisposition to tailor the reports and adapt to our needs. They are not just great in their researching and consulting solutions, but their service is unparallelled. We’ve worked with them a couple of times and we will keep working with them in future projects.

The ‘Social Engineering Libraries’

COVID-19 has caused widespread fear, anxiety, and panic, increasing the use of the darkweb as people seek to access illegal goods and services. With widespread lockdowns, the use of the darkweb has increased as people have more time to engage in criminal activities. Not only did Darkweb serve as an information resource, but it also promoted apprehension and conspiracy theories. Deterioration in behavioral traits such as loneliness and gambling were more frequent and correlated to the use of the Darkweb 9. During COVID-19, the illicit trade of vaccines was rampant, along with factitious proof of vaccination 10. When shortages arose in regular marketplaces of various COVID-19 medications, the Darkweb showed their high availability and vice versa.

Classic darknet markets sell diverse illegal goods; data stores focus on leaked or stolen data like credentials, databases, and ID records. While some of these markets were shuttered by law enforcement agencies – some took the easy way out with exit scams. Here are some of the now-defunct dark web markets that were notorious for cybercrime. The first category includes classic marketplaces, which serve as one-stop shops for a wide range of illegal goods.
These data centers require robust fiber optic connections to ensure efficient data transfer and processing. For example, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area has attracted numerous data center projects, with a total planned investment surpassing a substantial amount. The rise of edge computing has further increased the need for localized data centers connected by dark fiber networks. Our previous reporting on the Chinese cybercrime landscape covered the Chinese-language dark web markets, clearnet hacking forums and blogs, and messaging platforms. We analyzed the features of these sources and the tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs) of Chinese-speaking threat actors within the context of their distinct cultural, political, and legal characteristics. As China marches toward a digital economy and enacts new laws and regulations to tighten data security and crack down on telecom fraud and cybercrimes, the environment becomes increasingly challenging for cybercriminals.
- Without human limitations, these plants can operate continuously, significantly increasing output volumes.
- By 2023, China’s robot density—the number of robots per 10,000 manufacturing workers—reached 392, significantly surpassing the global average of 141.
- The anonymous and encrypted nature of the Darkweb allows drug traffickers to operate without fear of detection by law enforcement.
- Treasury remains focused on the risks posed by darknet marketplaces, as highlighted in previous designations of Genesis Market on April 5, 2023, and of Hydra Market on April 5, 2022.
- This research has used local Bitcoin trade volume as a proxy for adopting cryptocurrencies in the shadow economy and has found evidence of currency substitution in some cases.
RELEVANCE OF ISO CERTIFICATION IN PANDEMIC TIMES
To be sure, its website, which was riddled with cryptic codes and enigmatic names, served as a crucial gateway for further explorations into both the dark web and the clearnet. In fact, once we indicated interest in buying precursor chemicals, they provided us with CAS numbers as well as the names of the chemicals they sold that can be used to synthesize fentanyl. They often went to great lengths to ensure that we had the right CAS number and any additional information we needed to find the chemicals. Tor is a browser that allows for anonymous communication and it is the most common form of accessing the dark web. Once open, we did a series of searches with the word “fentanyl.” Eventually, one of them popped up with a product identification number.
Budget, Financial Reporting, Planning And Performance
This virtual event picks apart the various components of attack surface management strategy, the push to mandate continuous asset visibility and inventory tools, and the use of red-teaming, bug bounties and pen-tests in modern security programs. “Its primary purpose is protest against the Japanese government on environmental issues,” explained Kozuch. The results, published this week at Black Hat, show a diverse, culturally sensitive and wider than perhaps expected Asian dark web. Along with the report, IntSights’ director of threat research, Itay Kozuch, took SecurityWeek on a guided tour of the Asian dark web.