Blake Benthall aka “Defcon”, Former Operator of Silk Road 2.0, Tells His Story
Cybercrime Magazine ·
This week in cybersecurity from the editors at Cybercrime Magazine Sausalito, Calif. – Sep. 16, 2026 – Listen to the Podcast Silk Road 2.0 was a dark web marketplace launched in Nov. 2013, approximately five weeks after the FBI shut down the original Silk Road and arrested its The post Blake Benthall aka “Defcon”, Former Operator of Silk Road 2.0, Tells His Story appeared first on Cybercrime Magazine .
Sausalito, Calif. – Sep. 16, 2026
– Listen to the Podcast
Silk Road 2.0 was a dark web marketplace launched in Nov. 2013, approximately five weeks after the FBI shut down the original Silk Road and arrested its founder, Ross Ulbricht.
Blake Benthall is the former operator of the infamous dark web marketplace. Operating under the pseudonym “Defcon,” Benthall spent a year building and expanding Silk Road 2.0 until his arrest by the FBI in Nov. 2014. After time in solitary confinement and eight months in a federal detention center, he spent many years cooperating with the FBI’s Cyber Division on high-profile cases.
Benthall, now CEO and founder at Fathom(x), a blockchain analysis and risk mitigation company based in Houston, Texas, joins host Cybercrime Magazine Podcast host Scott Schober to discuss his experience, arrest, and journey to where he is today.
Listen to the Podcast Episode
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The post Blake Benthall aka “Defcon”, Former Operator of Silk Road 2.0, Tells His Story appeared first on Cybercrime Magazine .