Inside a Dark Web Kill List | Carl Miller | TED

Overview

Carl Miller delves into the chilling world of darknet assassination websites, uncovering how seemingly ordinary people place kill orders online. Through his investigative journey, he reveals the shocking motivations behind these acts, the fraudulent nature of the sites, and the unsettling ease with which people attempt to orchestrate violence.

Notable Quotes

- The people on this list, the Kill List, and the people that put them there are normal people. They have jobs, they have friends. They go about living their lives just like you and I. – Carl Miller, on the unsettling ordinariness of perpetrators.

- We might all be just a little bit closer to being on a kill list than we might like to think. – Carl Miller, reflecting on the implications of his findings.

- If there were hitmen out there, these were the most incompetent hitmen on the face of the planet. – Carl Miller, on the fraudulent nature of the darknet assassination sites.

🕵️‍♂️ Investigating the Darknet

- Carl Miller and hacker Chris Monteiro discovered a vulnerability in a darknet assassination website, allowing them to access its backend.

- They uncovered a Kill List containing names, addresses, and detailed instructions for hits, along with bitcoin payments.

- The site claimed to connect users with hitmen, but its true purpose was extortion, exploiting users' willingness to pay for violence.

📞 Warning the Targets

- After police dismissed the case, Miller took it upon himself to warn individuals on the Kill List.

- Initial attempts to contact targets by phone were met with disbelief and rejection.

- Collaborating with local journalists, Miller successfully reached some targets, including Elena, who revealed her estranged husband’s likely involvement.

💰 The People Behind the Orders

- Perpetrators were often ordinary individuals driven by personal vendettas, such as custody battles, divorces, or family disputes.

- Examples included a hospital administrator targeting an ex, a religious IT technician plotting against adoptive children’s biological parents, and a doctor attempting to control his wife through violence.

- These cases highlighted a common thread: a desperate need for control, often tied to intimate partner violence.

🔍 The Fraudulent Hitmen

- The supposed hitmen on the site were fictitious, with the operators fabricating excuses to delay hits and extract more money.

- Despite the fraud, the intent of those placing the orders was deadly serious, as evidenced by real-world actions like Elena’s husband stockpiling weapons.

🌍 Global Impact and Law Enforcement

- Miller and his team worked with the FBI, uncovering 175 paid kill orders across the globe, leading to 32 arrests and 28 convictions.

- The site operators, likely Romanian cybercriminals, were eventually arrested, but the investigation underscored the dangers of how technology lowers barriers to violent crime.