Trial opens in Germany against operators of the ‘cyber-bunker’

In the German town of Trier, a trial has begun against operators of one of the world’s largest darknet site hosts, known as the ‘cyber-bunker’. They are accused of involvement in 249,000 crimes, according to the German publication Der Spiegel.

Among those detained are citizens of Germany, the Netherlands, and Bulgaria. The main organizer of the ‘cyber-bunker’ is considered to be the Dutch Herman-Johan Xennt (Herman-Johan Xennt). According to prosecutors, it was he who made all the key decisions.

One of the main questions in the case is under what circumstances the operator is responsible for content on the servers it hosts.

“So far, the focus has always been on criminals who sell drugs or weapons on the darknet, rather than on those who make this business technically possible,” noted Der Spiegel earlier.

In 2019, as part of a special operation, German law enforcement took control of the ‘cyber-bunker’. According to police, its servers hosted various darknet platforms, including the Wall Street Market, which was closed in May 2019.

The servers were housed in an abandoned bunker in Traben-Trarbach in western Germany — hence the name ‘cyber-bunker’.

For more on its activities, as well as the history of major darknet marketplace closures, read ForkLog’s exclusive.

The Pantheon of the darknet, or what awaits the deep web after a string of illegal-market closures

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