Characterising the online weapons trafficking on cryptomarkets

Détails

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Etat: Public
Version: de l'auteur⸱e
ID Serval
serval:BIB_BD1327FE2C2B
Type
Article: article d'un périodique ou d'un magazine.
Collection
Publications
Institution
Titre
Characterising the online weapons trafficking on cryptomarkets
Périodique
Forensic Science International
Auteur⸱e⸱s
Rhumorbarbe Damien, Werner Denis, Gilliéron Quentin, Staehli Ludovic, Broséus Julian, Rossy Quentin
ISSN
0379-0738
ISSN-L
0379-0738
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
02/2018
Peer-reviewed
Oui
Volume
283
Pages
16-20
Langue
anglais
Notes
Publication types: Journal Article
Publication Status: ppublish
Résumé
Weapons related webpages from nine cryptomarkets were manually duplicated in February 2016. Information about the listings (i.e. sales proposals) and vendors' profiles were extracted to draw an overview of the actual online trafficking of weapons. Relationships between vendors were also inferred through the analysis of online digital traces and content similarities. Weapons trafficking is mainly concentrated on two major cryptomarkets. Besides, it accounts for a very small proportion of the illicit trafficking on cryptomarkets compared to the illicit drugs trafficking. Among all weapon related listings (n=386), firearms only account for approximately 25% of sales proposal since the proportion of non-lethal and melee weapons is important (around 46%). Based on the recorded pseudonyms, a total of 96 vendor profiles were highlighted. Some pseudonyms were encountered on several cryptomarkets, suggesting that some vendors may manage accounts on different markets. This hypothesis was strengthened by comparing pseudonyms to online traces such as PGP keys, images and profiles descriptions. Such a method allowed to estimate more accurately the number of vendors offering weapons across cryptomarkets. Finally, according to the gathered data, the extent of the weapons trafficking on the cryptomarkets appear to be limited compared to other illicit goods.

Mots-clé
Ammunition, Darknet markets, Digital traces, Firearms, Forensic intelligence, Internet traces, Pathology and Forensic Medicine
Pubmed
Web of science
Open Access
Oui
Création de la notice
20/04/2017 18:15
Dernière modification de la notice
20/08/2019 16:31
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