Silk Road forums
Discussion => Security => Topic started by: hellwillbetoasty on October 25, 2012, 08:35 am
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Hello all,
So of course, being the impulsive and excitable drug user I am, as soon as I found out about the SR I went ahead and stupidly ordered a few things without reading anything on the forums, so I was not yet aware of PGP. I know, I know, very stupid of me and I'll be sure not to repeat it. Just a few orders of MDMA all under 10 grams, one gram of ketamine, and a gram of hash. My question is, theoretically, does anyone know how much danger I am in? Do my orders stand a greater chance of being seized? What are some of the consequences that could happen and the likelihood of anything happening if I keep my orders to very small amounts? Thanks in advance.
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I live in the US, if this is of any help.
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You will probably be okay. PGP is an extra security measure. If something happens to the Silk Road server, for example if it gets hacked or confiscated, then all PGP encrypted messages/addresses will not be readable. All unencrypted message will be open to read for the hacker or that government agency.
As long as Silk Road is safe, you will be safe. And if the website operators did their job, addresses get deleted after the order has been completed. However there is no way for us to be sure of that.
You'll probably be okay, but it's highly advisable that you use PGP from now on. Good luck!
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OK, great, thanks so much! Eases my mind a little bit.
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It'd be pretty hard even if the server were compromised to prove that someone actually sent the listed transaction/address match up, in a court of law. Either way you should use PGP from here on.
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I did the same thing when I first got here. I figure it's just too much trouble to justify the expense of going after someone who has only purchased small end user amounts of drugs even if they have all your info somehow. Elsewhere on the security forum I've read stuff about people who used to use The Farmer's Market (I never visited it or anything, only heard about it after it went down) getting cease and desist letters from the DEA (or some other agency, I don't recall exactly) over small amounts of drugs they've purchased online. I figure the DEA wouldn't have sent out such a letter unless they had no intention of prosecuting, why else would they send a letter saying "hey knock that shit off". Its not like the cops call you ahead of time if they will be serving a warrant for your arrest or anything.
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Yes. I don't know the case, but I assume that is what happened. The feds/DEA confiscated the database and coerced the site operators into giving them full access. Then, they were able to freely read all addresses that had not been encrypted with PGP.
As Holly states correctly, it's hard to build a case against somebody, based only on his address being found somewhere. But that does not mean it can't get you in trouble. It's possible that your address gets flagged by customs and all foreign post directed to you will be checked and double checked. Or maybe if you're address shows up multiple times, you'll get a knock and talk.
I like to believe that Silk Road is built better, and such a thing won't happen, but we can't be sure of it. It is a very good practice to use PGP.