Oh, what an untangled web we weave: The abnormal structure of illegal digital marketplace communities
研究了暗网非法市场（DNM）中用户互动的社交网络结构，并与亚马逊、eBay等合法平台对比，发现非法网络在保持隐秘性的同时实现了高效沟通，现有模型难以复制其结构，暗示存在人为管理。
This paper discusses a novel, important, and growing consumption environment: illegal Dark Net Markets (DNMs) residing in the Dark Web, where vendors and buyers trade in a variety of illicit goods and services. Using data extracted from a DNM, we map the social network structure created by its customers as they interact on the platform, and compare it to the structures of two similar, but legal, communities (Amazon and eBay). This comparison illustrates similarities in consumer behavior but also reveals important differences: the illicit network forms a structure that provides secrecy and privacy while maintaining very efficient communication. We find that existing organic formation models poorly recreate the network, leading to a proposed alternative based on the premise that DNM network formation is managed. Some implications of these findings for studying digital marketplaces, as well as developing effective countermeasures to illicit trade, are discussed.