Evidence of Organized Crime and Drug Trafficking on the Tor Network

• In Event: Organized Crime in Food and Drug Markets

Abstract

Without opportunities to commit crime, the motivated offender becomes less motivated and therefore less likely to engage in the criminal act (Cohen and Felson, 1979). Researchers have begun to look at the new opportunities for crime provided by the Internet, and recent data offers initial confirmation that this link between Internet-related opportunities and crime holds. However, research has yet to systematically explore one part of the Internet that provides users with complete anonymity: the Tor Network. This network is accessible only once the proper software has been downloaded; this software ensures Tor users’ identities are kept untraceable and completely unidentifiable. It is hypothesized that this anonymity exacerbates opportunities for crime, therefore enticing motivated offenders to use this network in place of the open Internet. This study examined criminal opportunities on the Tor Network related specifically to evidence of organized crime and drug trafficking by using quantitative and qualitative methods to determine: whether the individuals involved in criminal activities on the Tor Network were part of larger, sophisticated organized crime groups or simply part of smaller, entrepreneurial groups; and the types and quantities of drugs more likely to be sold via the Tor Network compared to more traditional drug trafficking activity.

Author

• Diana S. Dolliver, University of Alabama