UK pledges £ 9 million to fight darknet and cybercrime

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The UK government is taking the lead in finding new solutions to combat the darknet and the anonymity it provides to criminals. The UK Home Secretary announced that a separate £ 9 million fund is being allocated for this work, which will be used by UK specialized law enforcement agencies in this digital struggle.

Activities on the dark web​

In making this statement, Home Secretary Amber Rudd used rather strong statements to describe the criminal activity carried out using the anonymous medium provided by the darknet. She described it as "an extremely dark and dangerous place that poses a threat to everyone."

All types of illegal goods are sold on the dark web, from drugs and weapons to malware and hacker equipment that can aid in various cyberattacks. UK law enforcement is unable to track dark web users, as the anonymity ecosystem leaves little to no trace of transactions, which is a major stumbling block.

A large fund, which currently remains at the disposal of UK law enforcement, is expected to be used to work on technologies that will track and identify criminals on the dark side of the Internet.

Budget​

As you know, the UK government has already formed a budget of £ 50 million in its budget, which will be used to fight cybercrime in general. It is from this reserve that 9 million are allocated for the fight against the darknet and the creation of a special fund.

In addition, an additional £ 5 million is being allocated to the UK Police to create exclusive cybercrime units in their regional and local structures.

The Minister of the Interior spoke at a related event where she shared information on the proposed allocation of funds. Observers want to know exactly how the government plans to find a solution to curb illicit trade on the dark web.

Encrypted data​

As you know, the darknet, and indeed any modern ecosystem, uses various encryption algorithms to ensure the security of the participants in the system. Of course, all modern cybercriminals use Tor Browser, VPN, Dedicated computers and other anonymity tools on the Internet, which creates barriers to various law enforcement agencies.

In fact, law enforcement officers simply do not have ready-made technologies for decrypting data (Pavluu's note - does it resemble anything?), Even if a person is under suspicion, his technical training and knowledge may be quite enough to hide all traces of a crime.

The only effective way that still works in all the practices of combating the darknet in the world is the successful search for circumstantial evidence and the ability to connect them with a particular person. (note Pavluu - for example, the creator of Silk Road lit his post on the forum for psilocybin mushroom growers)

Also, law enforcement agencies are trying to work through courier companies and postal services, which, as you know, are engaged in the delivery of most products from darknet sites in Europe and the United States.

That is why the UK has come to a decision of a technological nature: they do not want to look for circumstantial evidence, they want to get comfortable on the darknet and work in the same place where all criminals work, improving their knowledge and the technical component of their methods of investigating and catching cybercriminals.

Information system​

What's more, the UK government has allocated another £ 3 million to fund a campaign to raise awareness of cybercrime among the country's citizens. The campaign is aimed at disseminating information about cybercrime, the dark web, various methods of online fraud, etc. It is assumed that such a measure will force citizens to improve their knowledge in the field of cybersecurity and protect their personal data.

Total: £ 17m already allocated to fight cybercrime in the UK since early 2018. Let's see what comes of it.