Feds Say They Finally Got the Operator of The Real Deal, One of the Dark Web’s Most Notorious Markets

The man behind one of the most well - roll in the hay and profitable coloured vane marketplaces has been arraigned on thrill related to its operation after years of attempts to prosecute him , according to Union official . Daniel Kaye , 34 , of London , is alleged to be the administrator ofThe Real Deal , an underworld bazar that , in its day , offered an mixed bag of unlawful services — including the ability to hack into U.S. federal agencies .

First seem in 2015 , The Real Deal sold weapons , drugs , hacking tools , stolen login credential , and other illegal stuff to interested Tor drug user who were willing to beat out bitcoin . Among the shadowed offer usable on the site were steal passwords allowing for the percolation of major social media companies and American government agency . While the site has been for the most part defunct since tardy 2016 , prior to its shutdown The Real Deal was linked to legion large - scale data breaches , including those involvingMySpaceandLinkedIn .

Kaye , whowas arrestedin London in 2019 onchargesin a freestanding hacking eccentric , began his career as acybersecurity contractorin the law - abiding world but ultimately get himself drawn to illegal exploits . He started have jobs that involve corporate espionage and cyberattacks , a Bloomberg profile from 2019notes , which finally take to a living of cybercrime .

Photo: OneSideProFoto (Shutterstock)

Kaye is said to have execute the Real Deal from 2015 to 2017 under a variety of nom de guerre , including “ Spdrman , ” “ Bestbuy , ” “ UserL0ser , ” “ David Cohen , ” “ Dlinch Kravitz , ” and others . Using these digital disguise , he pedaled stolen login credential for governing agency , including NASA , the U.S. Navy , the U.S. Postal Service , the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . He is also allege to have worked together with another felon — a still unnamed user dub “ thedarkoverlord”—to deal stolen Social Security number .

Kaye was indict in April of last year for charges of access gadget fake and money laundering confederacy . However , he was overseas at the time of the bill of indictment and had to be extradited to the U.S. for his arraignment Wednesday .

“ While living overseas , this defendant allegedly operate an illegal site that made hacking tools and login credentials useable for purchase , including those for U.S. government agencies , ” sound out U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan , in the wake of Kaye ’s arraignment . Buchanan further called the instance a “ monitor ” that “ federal legal philosophy enforcement will make those accuse of breaking U.S. laws face their mean solar day in motor hotel , regardless of where they repose in the globe . ”

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