The 'game-changing' attitude behind a very creative dark web takedown
The 'game-changing' attitude behind a very creative dark web takedown
The takedown of the Hansa market showed how old-school policing can play a role in cybercrime cases. The Click Here podcast team talks with the head of the Netherlands’ High Tech Crimes Unit about the legacy of that operation.
What do you get when you pair hard-bitten cops with cyber whiz kids? One of the largest, most creative dark market takedowns in the history of the internet.
In 2017, police with the Netherlands’ National High Tech Crimes Unit did more than shut down Hansa, once Europe’s most popular dark web market. For nearly a month, a group of computer nerds and boots-on-the-ground police officers took it over — running the site from the inside, setting up cyber booby traps and showing how a marriage of technical and tactical specialists can enable an operation for the ages.
That combination — old-school cops working with a younger cyber set — is still paying dividends for the Dutch national police. In an exclusive interview with the Click Here podcast, Matthijs van Amelsfort, head of the National High Tech Crimes Unit, discusses the legacy of the Hansa operation, his team’s unique structure and how a “game-changing” ethos is helping law enforcement stay a step ahead of cybercriminals.