Cybersecurity
‘Dread Pirate’ Jury Hears of Silk Road Blackmailer Murder Plot
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Jurors in the trial of Ross Ulbricht, charged with running the Silk Road online drug marketplace, heard the start of an exchange of online messages in which he allegedly hired a drug dealer to murder a supplier who was trying to extort money from him.
Prosecutors claim Ulbricht, 30, who they say ran the site under the name “Dread Pirate Roberts,” tried in March and April 2013 to arrange the murder of “FriendlyChemist,” a Silk Road vendor who threatened to disclose the identities of customers and vendors on the site.