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Hansa: The Infiltration of the Dark Web

fern

4,667,802 views

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This is the story of one of the boldest international police investigations of all time, likely the largest trap in Darknet history. This is Operation Bayonet.

Links to WIRED’s reporting:
https://www.wired.com/story/hansa-dut...
https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-...
https://www.wired.com/story/alphabay-...

Sources:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1T...

Music list:
Title Song:
Marcel Becker Neu - Red Riding Hood

Artlist:
Stanley Gurvich - Absolution wav
Yarin Primak - Buss It Loop
Danny Shields - Vibrations
Jimmy Svensson - The Darkest Day
Sam Lux - Unbreakable Code
Quinten Coblentz - Babylon
Out of Flux - SNIPERBUNKER
Flint - Don't Open
Oliver Michael - Setup
Quinten Coblentz Just the Beginning
Out of Flux - CLASH OF THE MACHINES
Flint - March the Machine
Evgeny Bardyuzha - High Contrast Fluid

Epidemic Sound:
Otarefsun - par
Suicidal Drivestyle - Hysics
Metal under Tension - Hampus Naeselius
Blackhat - Sonum
Voigt Kampff - Martin Baekkevold
Crossing the Border - Hampus Naeselius
Space Noise - Martin Klem
It's Just Noise - Blue Saga

Lens Distortions:
The Unlock - Background Elements
Precursor
No Half Measures
The Unlock

Audiio:
Genelex - Tensor X
Brad Hill - Delivered Distrubance
Brad Hill - Darkness at Dawn
Yari - See
Brad Hill - Dark City
Terem - WhereAreYouGoingEP - Fire Trap
Kodomo - Three SpherHeat Death
Guzer - Floating - Floating
Brad Hill - 10 - Dark Static
Theatre Of Delays - Theatre Of Delays - Architect
Brad Hill - Hollow Machine
Theatre Of Delays - Remnant

Credits:
Executive Producers: Jonas, David, Paul Lühnsdorf
Producer: Mona Schier
Editorial Supervision: Lucie Schöner, Jonas
Script: Julia
Fact-Checking: Pascale Müller
Voice-Over: Don
Directed by: Marcel Becker-Neu
Production Coordination: Vera Hartlieb
Production Assistant: Philip Kamper
Editing: Bernd MSC Schroers
3D Animation: Thomas Overbeeke
2D Animation: Dennis Gajdek
Camera: Jannik Nolte
First Assistant Camera: Simon Andjic
Grading: Adrian Honsberg
Titel-Track: Marcel Becker-Neu
Sound Design: Bernd MSC Schroers
Sound Mix: Studio Soma
Cast: Lasse Jonas Rogie, Philip Kemper, Mona Schier, Jeroen Van Hoorn, Lakchih Tong, Simon Andjic, Jannik Nolte, Marcel Becker-Neu

_____
Armchair documentaries, almost weekly

20 Comments

@DrystanNG 2 months ago

Fern having actors now is insane

@JamesLWilber 2 months ago

In the first five minutes of this video I learned a site selling drugs on the dark web has better customer service than Amazon.

@wrishaav 2 months ago (edited)

So a random youtube channel I found 3 yrs ago is now a full fledged documentary organization

@lorenzoneri3750 2 weeks ago

Actors in response to the AI slop allegations is crazy work

@jessefadhili9640 2 months ago

The intro scene could win an Emmy

@trev.vert24 2 months ago

FERN making 10/10 cinematic masterpieces about topics I didn’t even know existed 4 minutes ago.😌✋️

@quicksmilenathan103 2 months ago

Didnt know i had YouTube Premium. This level of production is higher than Netflix! Keep it up guys, i am very proud.

@RB-wu4us 1 month ago

The silk road take down was basically an advertisement for the rest of the planet

@Flexy-V2 2 months ago

Not only having actors, but have Charles Leclerc is crazy.

@proxeroshi7624 2 months ago

The Hansa admins leaving an unencrypted staging server sitting out in the open is the digital equivalent of locking your front door and leaving the key under a welcome mat that says 'KEY IS HERE'.

@claymountain1300 1 month ago

As a Dutch citizen the most unbelievable thing about this is the Politie being competent and knowing how computers work

@HisLordship1984 1 month ago

Fun fact: twenty years before, the Dutch police were involved in the IRT-scandal. The basic premise was that the police would secretly allow a certain amount of drug trade, given it would not exceed a set maximum. In some cases, the police even transported the drugs to keep an eye on them, blurring the lines between law enforcement and criminal activity. It wouldn’t surprise me if the high tech crime unit took its inspiration from that scandal.

@Joker-uf7yw 2 months ago

The ship being sunk is such a badass move

@SomeonesSound 2 months ago

I’m so glad to have worked with you guys on this video, thank y’all so much. (I commented)

@Missi-the-Achievement-Huntress 2 months ago

I can appriciate so much that somebody in this operation took the time to change the logo to a sunken ship.

@QBUNNY77 1 month ago

If fern didn't say there were real actors, I would have thought they were animated for sure. That's how good the quality is

@draxler.a 2 months ago

Great video! However, I wanted to point out a technical clarification regarding the explanation of Tor at (7:34). The video suggests that simply finding an exit node allows for user identification via traffic correlation. In practice, Tor exit nodes are public and well-known; the challenge is that successful traffic correlation attacks require monitoring both entry and exit points simultaneously—a task that is statistically complex due to the massive volume of noise in the network. Furthermore, many high-profile takedowns in the Darknet space have historically relied on browser exploits or server misconfigurations (like the one mentioned with Hansa's staging server) rather than timing analysis alone. Just a small nuance to keep in mind for future deep dives into cybersecurity!