What is a darknet store and why are people who run them so hard to catch?

An Australian man has been arrested in Germany, accused of operating the biggest illegal marketplace on the darknet.

Prosecutors allege the 34-year-old sold drugs, forged money, stolen or forged credit cards, anonymous mobile phone SIM cards and malware on the site, known as DarkMarket.

So what is a dark web store and why are people who run them so hard to catch? Professor of digital forensics at Edith Cowan University, Craig Valli, explains.

What do we mean when we say ‘the darknet’? What is it?

You’ve got your internet, which allows us to all connect with each other, and the darknet is a space you can use with what we call a gateway service to connect to what is essentially another network. That network is not apparent to the internet.