AntiDarkNet vigilante "annihilated" amid dark web drug user doxxing drama
Shadowy "United States of Dread" group seizes website of activist who claimed to have published the names of illegal marketplace customers.
Hackers from the dark web community Dread have seized the website of an anti-drug activist after he claimed to have doxxed hundreds of people who made purchases on illegal marketplaces.
Earlier this week, an activist called AntiDarkNet sparked a huge drama on the dark web after claiming to have published the names and addresses of more than 650 drug buyers.
This prompted a response from a group called the United States of Dread, which took control of the website antidark.net and claimed to have obtained the identity of its owners.
However, when we reviewed a list of alleged drug customers published by AntiDarkNet, we were not able to prove they were genuine.
The addresses we checked did not exist and there were other giveaways such as people from California buying cannabis off the dark web - when weed is legal in the state.
If the information were genuine, some of the people identified on the lists would clearly be classed as dealers, ordering thousands of dollars worth of opiates and the lethal drug fentanyl. Others had made small weed purchases.
We will not link to the lists for legal reasons. This post will be updated if the situation changes and we discover more about the people AntiDarkNet allegedly named.
Dread takes on AntiDarkNet
The drama started when AntiDarkNet posted a large number of messages on Dread - the dark web's equivalent of Reddit - threatening to expose its anonymous users' identities and get them arrested. The group also previously claimed responsibility for the "Black Marble" attack on the privacy-focused cryptocurrency Monero.
On Telegram, AntiDarkNet then published long lists of names and addresses that had been shared on Pastebin, writing: "We wish to multiply the damage and show everyone drugs aren't the answer and the dark web doesn't offer any cover. No PGP no encryption will help you.
"We are working hard to deliver absolutely full doxes by Friday to as many as we can. We have too much material to go through but we will tease our proof as our deadline has passed. We promise and deliver."
This prompted a response from a prominent Dread user called Yugong, which took over the website antidark.net and posted the message: "United States of Dread is not only active in promoting harm reduction and helping for a safer non-violence environment but also against boot lickers who want to take your privacy and freedoms away.
"Here we trace people who are actively barking at Darknet Markets, who offer nothing positive or constructive to society and who claim they are bulletproof. Are you one of them? Then you have our attention."
READ MORE: Have cops seized Abacus Market? Rumours swirl as dark web drugs bazaar shuts down
The takedown appears to be the second time AntiDarkNet has been attacked.
In a Dread post, Yugong wrote: "United States of Dread is announcing the seizure (again) and complete annihilation of the Antidarknet group. We have dismantled their server and identified the admin and group members."
He advised: "I can't stress this enough. DISABLE ALWAYS Javascript. Don't become a victim. If the Antidarknet members had done that basic opsec rule getting their information would have been much harder."
Yugong described the attack as a "small ray of sunshine" after the recent shutdown of Abacus Market, which you can read about at the link shared above, and Europol's seizure of the "longest-standing" dark web drug marketplace Archetyp and the arrests of its alleged leaders.
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