Tove Westberg from Lund University has been invited to speak on:
Darknet and the Rise of Dead Drops – The Swedish Condition
Co-hosted with FODI at Mid Sweden University.
Abstract
The Darknet, often portrayed as inherently illicit, is fundamentally an encryption technology enabling anonymous communication. In Sweden, this has facilitated trade through cryptomarkets, including local platforms such as Flugsvamp. Though primarily used for drug trafficking, these markets also sell goods like stolen financial data and forged IDs, typically delivered via postal services such as Postnord. However, in early 2025, I observed a shift: vendors are increasingly using dead drops instead of postal delivery. Here, a courier leaves a package at a set location and shares the coordinates with the buyer. While common in Russia, particularly on the now-defunct Hydra marketplace (Goonetilleke et al., 2023), dead drops have had limited impact on Western cryptomarkets (Aldridge & Askew, 2017). My talk explores why this shift is occurring in Sweden, what it reveals about evolving drug distribution, and what it suggests about the relationship between darknet trade and the Swedish criminal landscape.
Bio
Tove Westberg (Lund University) is a criminologist studying Darknet and digital constellations, focusing on online-offline intersections and how digital environments shape criminal practices.