Europol designed a “specialized training course,” the first of its kind, to help participants learn how to navigate the dark web and take down cybercriminals.
The European Union law enforcement agency's Cyber Research Lab created its own private Darknet network, private cryptocurrency and simulated marketplace in order to recreate actual virtual “underground” environments, a press release stated.
The five-day training course had participants taking on the role of vendors, buyers and administrators, which improved their “understanding of the technical infrastructure of the Tor network hidden services,” marketplaces and cryptocurrencies.
The training involved live law enforcement site takedowns of the created marketplaces, as well as penetration testing on marketplaces to determine whether systems were vulnerable.
Australia, Finland, France and Japan, along with seven other countries, sent representatives for the training. Another iteration of the course will be held in November.
