The Network of Online Stolen Data Markets: How Vendor Flows Connect Digital Marketplaces

Authors

Marie Ouellet, Georgia State UniversityFollow
David Maimon, Georgia State UniversityFollow
C. Jordan Howell, University of Texas at El PasoFollow
Yubao Wu, Georgia State UniversityFollow

Author ORCID Identifier

Marie Ouellet: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4442-3374

David Maimon: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1492-2762

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-5-2022

Abstract

In the face of market uncertainty, illicit actors on the darkweb mitigate risk by displacing their operations across digital marketplaces. In this study, we reconstruct market networks created by vendor displacement to examine how digital marketplaces are connected on the darkweb and identify the properties that drive vendor flows before and after a law enforcement disruption. Findings show that vendors’ movement across digital marketplaces creates a highly connected ecosystem; nearly all markets are directly or indirectly connected. These network characteristics remain stable following a law enforcement operation; prior vendor flows predict vendor movement before and after the interdiction. The findings inform work on collective patterns in offender decision-making and extend discussions of displacement into digital spaces.

Comments

Author accepted manuscript version of an article to be published by Oxford University Press in the British Journal of Criminology.

Recommended Citation

Ouellet, Marie; Maimon, David; Howell, C. Jordan; and Wu, Yubao, "The Network of Online Stolen Data Markets: How Vendor Flows Connect Digital Marketplaces" (2022). CSLF Articles. 4.
https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/ays_cslf_articles/4