RFC 2440 - OpenPGP Format Released
1998
OpenPGP ("Pretty Good Privacy") is software that uses cryptography to secure online communications. It can provide a strong method of validating identity online. [5]
Creation of TOR Browser [1]
2000
Tor is a vehicle for Deep Web access. It was originally developed by the U.S. Military to protect U.S. intelligence communications. Tor has two abilities: The user’s internet service provider is not able to track your internet activity and the operators of the websites and services you use will see a connection from the Tor network instead of your actual IP address.
Creation of Bitcoin [6]
2008
Bitcoin is a digital currency that uses a blockchain ledger to record transactions. It was released by "Satoshi Nakamoto," which is thought to be a pseudonym.
Creation of Silk Road [7]
Feb 2011
The Silk Road is an online marketplace where drugs and other illicit products were for sale. When the Silk Road was created, the user with the greatest privileges and power originally had the username "Administrator", but that username was later changed into the pseudonymous name "Dread Pirate Roberts".
Silkroad Taken Down [2, 7]
Oct 2013
The Silk Road website was taken down after the alleged administrator, Ross Ulbricht (aka Dread Pirate Roberts), was arrested at a public library. He was charged a year later with charges of money laundering and narcotics trafficking.
New Silk Road 2.0 Launched [3,7]
Nov 2013
The second version of the Silk Road, Silk Road 2.0, was released shortly after the original website was taken down.
Silk Road 2.0 Taken Down [4,7]
Nov 2014
The second version of the Silk Road was taken down a year after it was released after a Homeland Security investigator began communicating with the new site's administrator, called "Defcon."
[1] The Tor Project, History. https://torproject.org/about/history/. (Retrieved 9/25/2021)
[2] “FBI Claims Largest Bitcoin Seizure after Arrest of Alleged Silk Road Founder.” The Guardian, 2 Oct. 2013, http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2013/oct/02/alleged-silk-road-website-founder-arrested-bitcoin.
[3] Greenberg, Andy. “‘Silk Road 2.0’ Launches, Promising A Resurrected Black Market For The Dark Web.” Forbes, https://www.forbes.com/sites/andygreenberg/2013/11/06/silk-road-2-0-launches-promising-a-resurrected-black-market-for-the-dark-web/. (Retrieved 9/25/2021)
[4] “FBI Arrests Alleged ‘Silk Road 2.0’ Operator Blake Benthall.” NBC News, https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/security/fbi-arrests-alleged-silk-road-2-0-operator-blake-benthall-n242751. (Retrieved 9/25/2021)
[5] J. Callas; L. Donnerhacke; H. Finnery; R.Thayer, OpenPGP Message Format, 11/1998, https://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc2440.txt (Retrieved 9/3/2021)
[6] Nakamoto, Satoshi (31 October 2008). "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System" (PDF). bitcoin.org (Retrieved 10/1/2021)
[7] Winter , Alexander, director. Deep Web. BOND360, 2015.