DarkMarket
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Mert was on remand in an Istanbul prison facing charges relating to the Akbank case when he was released on a technicality in March 2010. He was rearrested in November 2010 and, at the time of writing, is still on remand. Of all those involved in DarkMarket, Mert was one of the most gifted, if wayward and unpredictable, characters.
Keith Mularski and Bilal Şen
They are both back out patrolling the mean streets of cyber.
Lord Cyric
Who is he? The hunt continues . . .
A NOTE ON SOURCES
The bulk of the information in this book is provided by roughly 200 hours of interviews which I conducted between 2009 and 2011. Leonida Krushelnycky also undertook several hours of interviews.
In addition to this, I have relied on two main documentary sources. The first are the court records from a number of trials related to the websites CarderPlanet, Shadowcrew and DarkMarket. The second are the archives of the websites themselves, in particular the former two which are readily available on the web. Unfortunately, the DarkMarket archive is less accessible. I know of only one and that is in the possession of the FBI who, for operational reasons, are not at liberty to share it.
There is a considerable amount of literature on the issues of cyber crime, cyber industrial espionage and cyber warfare, much of it found on the Internet. For thoroughness, I would highlight the work of Kevin Poulsen and his team whose blog, Threat Level, is both well-written and properly researched. I would recommend two books dealing specifically with cyber crime, Kevin Poulsen’s Kingpin and Joseph Menn’s Fatal System Error. For a broader introduction into some of the challenges emerging as a consequence of Internet technology, Jonathan Zittrain’s The Future of the Internet: And How to Stop It should be the first port of call.
Other blogs of real value include Krebsonsecurity by Brian Krebs; Bruce Schneier’s newsletter, Crypto-gram; the blog of F-Secure, the Finnish Computer Security company; and, finally, Dancho Danchev and Ryan Naraine’s Zero Day blog on Znet.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Writing this book presented many challenges which I could never have met had it not been for the generous assistance I received from a number of friends and colleagues around the world.
In Britain, two people played a vital role. Leonida Krushelnycky has proved to be an indefatigable researcher, often uncovering vital material long after I had given up any hope of finding it. But for her efforts, the book would have been considerably poorer. Vesna Vucenovic ensured that the administration of this project was as painless as one could hope.
On my travels, I had the fortune to encounter two journalists whose patience and cheerfulness matched their professionalism and skill which were of the highest order. Kai Laufen helped me understand the complexities of German justice. But his contribution was still greater because of the contacts he helped me make and the hospitality he offered. Equally, I would have been completely lost in Istanbul, and Turkey, were it not for Şebnem Arsu. Tenacious, unfailingly polite and able to conjure up a solution when all appeared lost, I owe her a considerable debt.
From the various police forces around the world who have discussed DarkMarket with me, I must highlight Agent Keith J. Mularski of the FBI, Inspector Bilal Şen of the Anti-Smuggling and Organized Crime Department of the Turkish Police, and Detective Sergeant Chris Dawson of the Humberside police. All three have given up much of their valuable time to talk to me in the most illuminating fashion and were always happy to clarify anything I had not fully grasped. I would also like to thank the officers from the Serious Organised Crime Agency in London and Christian Aghroum, formerly of OCLCTIC in Paris.
From a rather different perspective, RioRita in Ukraine was a mine of information about CarderPlanet and beyond – my special thanks to him. I learned as much about the nuts and bolts of cyber crime from RedBrigade, I owe him a great deal for his friendliness and good-natured response to my countless requests for information and analysis.
Matrix001 and JiLsi were always willing to share their knowledge about the details of DarkMarket and their assessment of specific events. In Pittsburgh, I found Max Vision to be a brilliant and helpful interlocutor. All three have my sincere thanks.
Çag˘atay Evyapan and Mert Ortaç were two of the most interesting personalities I have met in the past three years even if they don’t see eye to eye themselves. I would like to convey my gratitude to both of them despite the difficulty of their current situations.
In Estonia, Madis Tüür was an exemplary guide to the politics and history of the country, not to mention an ever entertaining host.
Thanks also to Brooks Decillia from CBC in Calgary for his selfless research. Likewise, Daniel Goldberg and Linus Larsson came to my rescue in Stockholm.
Two people have helped me in the background with technical issues. In Helsinki, Mikko Hyppönen, Chief Research Officer of F-Secure and Vicente Diaz of Kaspersky Labs in Barcelona were always available to help me get my head round things I simply could not understand. I also received much wise advice regarding more general cyber security issues from Rex Hughes at Wolfson College, Cambridge.
I also want to thank the following people who helped me in a variety of different ways: Allison Culliford, Luke Dembosky, Sophie Devonshire, Joris Evers, Detective Spencer Frizzell, Tamara Glenny, Camino Kavanagh, Suat Kınıklıog˘lu, Dirk Kolberg, Darryl Leaning, Melissa Llewelyn-Davies, Jane McClellan Q.C., Mark Medish, Steve Milner, Jaan Prisaalu, Colin Robinson, Anya Stiglitz and Eneken Tikk.
My agents and publishers have been unstinting in their support. Clare Conville in London is as good an agent as one can imagine, backed by a wonderful team. Michael Carlisle provides an equally dynamic service in New York. I am fortunate to have a trio of editors, Will Sulkin at The Bodley Head, Dan Frank at Knopf and Sarah MacLachlan at Anansi Press, who have both made the writing experience more manageable while greatly enhancing the final product. If errors have crept in, I, naturally, bear full responsibility for them. I would also like to thank two others who have had a significant impact on the book, Kay Peddle at The Bodley Head and Janie Yoon at Anansi.
My three children to whom this work is dedicated have maintained a healthy interest in the book despite the fact that I have been frequently both absent and absent-minded while writing. They have never been anything less than cheerful and supportive.
And finally my thanks and love to Kirsty Lang, my wife, who has commented, critiqued, cajoled and kept me afloat throughout. Not for the first time, I could not have done it without her.
June 2011
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MISHA GLENNY is the international bestselling author of McMafia: A Journey through the Global Criminal Underworld, The Rebirth of History, The Fall of Yugoslavia (winner of the Overseas Press Club Award for Best Book on Foreign Affairs) and The Balkans: 1804–1999. He was an International Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C., and a visiting professor at the London School of Economics. He has worked as a political consultant in southeastern Europe, and is regularly consulted by U.S. and European governments on major policy issues. He is a regular contributor to newspapers and magazines such as the Guardian, London Review of Books, Globe and Mail, New Statesman, Washington Post and Financial Times. He lives in London, U.K.
ABOUT THE PUBLISHER
House of Anansi Press was founded in 1967 with a mandate to publish Canadian-authored books, a mandate that continues to this day even as the list has branched out to include internationally acclaimed thinkers and writers. The press immediately gained attention for significant titles by notable writers such as Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje, George Grant, and Northrop Frye. Since then, Anansi’s commitment to finding, publishing and promoting challenging, excellent writing has won it tremendous acclaim and solid staying power. Today Anansi is Canada’s pre-eminent independent press, and home to nationally and internationally bestsel
ling and acclaimed authors such as Gil Adamson, Margaret Atwood, Ken Babstock, Peter Behrens, Rawi Hage, Misha Glenny, Jim Harrison, A. L. Kennedy, Pasha Malla, Lisa Moore, A. F. Moritz, Eric Siblin, Karen Solie, and Ronald Wright. Anansi is also proud to publish the award-winning nonfiction series The CBC Massey Lectures. In 2007, 2009, 2010, and 2011 Anansi was honoured by the Canadian Booksellers Association as “Publisher of the Year.”