The Silk Road, one of the first and most notorious dark web markets, soon spiralled into a criminal empire worth millions, transforming its founder Ross Ulbricht into a ruthless cybercriminal known as ...
Ulbricht, known by the pseudonym “Dread Pirate Roberts,” founded Silk Road in 2011. Its services were available globally and could be accessed via a Tor browser, which protects users’ anonymity.
The Silk Road, named after historic trade routes spanning Europe, Asia and parts of Africa, was among the first and most popular of the dark net markets, spreading through word of mouth.