silk road v2 what could go wrong

srv2 what could go wrong

# Silk Road 2.0, What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

There are a number of risks with the reopened Silk Road. Rather than explore them
in depth, I'll look at some of the more serious security issues facing them.

[Ed: Since I began writing this in early December, at least some of what I
predicted has come to pass. Three of the moderators from the original Silk Road
have now been arrested.]

## Plenty of Possible Problems

### 1. It's a Trap

As several people have noted, there is the possibility that the new Silk Road 
has been setup as an elaborate sting operation. I tend to discount this idea,
because there are plenty of people who are willing to face risks to capture some
of that lucrative drug market. There are more than enough people willing to
assume that risk that there is no reason for a law enforcement angle to explain
Silk Road v2.0. 


Additionally, it involves a number of admins
from Silk Road 1.0, and it seems more likely that they'd have been arrested rather
than collectively used for a sting (assuming their accounts aren't operated by LEO).

Which brings me to my next point:

### 2. Contamination is your enemy

The administrators from the previous site are deeply involved with the current
site. These are people who have had their every statement and action catalog
and scrutinized by law enforcement officials for the last two years. These people
are contaminated. There are huge dossiers on them. Look at how easily one was
unmasked using only [OSINT techniques](http://antilop.cc/sr/#opiates_poker_cocaine)


Problems: 
  * Possibly a sting operation (but let's assume not for now)
  * same characters involved
    * The same people the FBI / DEA have just spent two years investigating, building profiles on, now with the full dump of the Silk Road database. These guys are burned. They need to go to ground, not start another illegal market place.