http://afritechnet..ae/2015/06/ross-ulbricht-trial-what-did-we-learn.html

Ross Ulbricht has been handed a double life sentence for his role as mastermind of the infamous 'Silk Road' website - a place where anything from guns and illicit drugs to hitmen and hackers for hire could be found.

The public gallery that is the internet has observed as this self-proclaimed Libertarian was charged (and then convicted) of narcotics trafficking, computer hacking and money laundering as a result of his online communications.

From 2011 - 2013 the Silk Road boasted $1.6 billion in sales. The courts have since ordered Ulbricht forfeit assets worth $184 million, a figure based upon the transactional records of the website in question.

For those wondering how it came to be that Ulbricht was caught, here are some of the security flaws in his operation that were exploited by the Federal law enforcement and could have left him vulnerable to other criminals:

1. Ulbricht made a post on a public forum under with an account linked to a personal gmail account that revealed his real name and details

2. US Customs intercepted a package containing 9 pieces of counterfeit ID. All 9 had photos of Ross Ulbricht with different names

3. Ulbricht posted on Stack Overflow using his real name, asking “How can I connect to a Tor hidden service using curl in php?”. One minute later he changed his username to “frosty”, but a subpoena shows the original name.


This case should drive home the message that once a message or image goes online it is in the public domain, forever. Additionally, Tor is designed for anonymity, not security and even then it falls short - decryption is possible.

http://afritechnet..com/2015/06/ross-ulbricht-trial-what-did-we-learn.html

4. Do not fūck with Uncle Sam, especially when it comes to paying taxes for running a business.

5. If the United States government want you, its all a matter of time before you get caught.

They will get you because the rules are skewed in their favor.

The can (and do) deny defendant's evidence at will, whilst presenting prosecutary evidence that has been garnered by suspect means.