“Game Over” for Nemesis: Marketplace Seized
In the context of an international operation led by Germany, the activity of the popular overseas illicit trading platform Nemesis was halted. Local police reported the seizure of the resource’s infrastructure and the shutdown of its website. Visitors to the site were greeted by an announcement of the platform’s capture, augmented with an animation reminiscent of a 1990s video game, symbolizing Nemesis’s destruction.
The press release from the Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany (BKA) underscores that the closure of Nemesis and the pursuit of its operators dealt a significant blow to participants in the darknet’s underground economy and demonstrated the efficacy of international law enforcement in the digital domain.
Media reports suggest the site’s administrators have yet to be identified. A year-and-a-half-long investigation, which eventually uncovered the trading platform’s infrastructure in Germany and Lithuania, preceded the joint takedown operation.
During the operation, servers and data were seized, which may assist in identifying users of the illegal platform. Additionally, approximately $102,000 in cryptocurrency assets, believed to be illicitly obtained, were confiscated. The site’s operators are suspected of drug trafficking and managing a criminal trading platform.
Founded in 2021, the darknet marketplace Nemesis quickly gained popularity. At the time of its dismantlement, it boasted over 150,000 users and more than 1,100 vendors, approximately 20% of whom, according to police estimates, were located in Germany. The platform offered drugs, compromised data, and cybercrime services, including ransomware and tools for conducting phishing and DDoS attacks.
Experience from previous operations against cybercriminal markets shows that criminals may resume their activities even after infrastructure shutdowns. For instance, following the recent closure of the website of the notorious LockBit ransomware group, its administrator announced the launch of a new site, claiming that the incident had no impact on the group’s business.
