Former FBI Cyber Special Agent Chris Tarbell joins Tim to talk about cyber crime and some of his most groundbreaking cases, including the Silk Road that centered on crypto currency and drug trafficking. And  they talk about the take-down of the “Anonymous” hacktivist collective. Chris’s specialty is cyber investigations. He was the lead investigator on some of the more notorious cyber security crime cases in recent memory.

Chris Tarbell is a former FBI Special Agent who focuses on cyber crime and cyber investigations. As a case agent with the FBI’s cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world. These included the arrest and prosecution of “Anonymous” and “LulzSec” leadership. And he was involved in the arrest and prosecution of the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace. This led to the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

Chris is a computer forensic examiner. He has engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes.

In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in New York.

He’s now the co-founder of a consulting firm called NAXO. In his new role, he helps businesses, high-profile people and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats.

Foreign and domestic law enforcement agencies also call on him to advise on investigative techniques.

As much as I wanted to learn from Chris about his career, the big thing on my mind was how does someone even access the dark web?

Links

• NAXO website
• Hacker and the Fed Podcast, Apple Podcasts
• TorProject.org
• The FBI Busted Silk Road but Not the ‘Dark Web’ Behind It, The Verge
• Anonymous Superhacker Turned FBI Informant Named Sabu Remains Defiant Over Snitching, The Guardian

About this Episode’s Guest Chris Tarbell

A former FBI Special Agent, Chris Tarbell specializes in cyber investigations and incident response. As a case agent with the FBI’s preeminent cybercrime squad in New York, he led some of the most groundbreaking cybercrime investigations in the world – including the arrest and prosecutions of Anonymous and LulzSec leadership, and the founder of the notorious Silk Road underground marketplace, the latter of which resulted in the largest seizure of bitcoins to date.

As a computer forensic examiner with the FBI, Chris engaged in rapid-response investigations all over the world on matters related to terrorism, botnets, and other cybercrimes. In 2009, Chris joined the FBI’s renowned cybercrime squad as a Special Agent in the New York field office. He was the lead investigator on several of the Bureau’s most complex and cutting-edge cases, including the takedown of the billion-dollar, cryptocurrency-based drug marketplace “Silk Road” and the arrest of its founder, and the investigation and arrest of the leadership of the Anonymous/LulzSec hacking crews.

Prior to co-founding NAXO, Chris developed and led the Cyber Operations & Incident Response practice for a large consulting firm. He has extensive experience helping businesses, high-profile individuals, and governments respond to a broad range of complex computer and network security threats. He is also regularly called on to advise foreign and domestic law enforcement officers on investigative techniques, and frequently lectures to business and government groups, including EUROPOL, on cyber threats and the means to address them.

Chris holds an MS in Computer Science from James Madison University with a concentration on Information Security. He has been certified by both the FBI and the International Association of Computer Investigative Specialists (IACIS) as a Certified Forensic Computer Examiner (CFCE). He has also been certified by the FBI as a subject-matter expert on cellphones and other mobile computing devices, and the Windows and Unix/Linux operating systems. Chris has been qualified in federal court as an expert witness in computer forensics, providing expert testimony in multiple federal criminal trials.