Researchers from the Australian National University’s Cybercrime Observatory surveyed 20 darknet markets earlier this month for medical products and supplies.
“I KEEP QUIET ON THIS”
They discovered 645 listings of 222 items from 110 unique vendors across 12 markets, according to the report released today. The estimated value of all unique listings was $369,000.
Coronavirus vaccines and blood from recovered patients are being sold as cures for almost $25,000. “COVID-19 antidote is here from China,” one read. Another said, “COVID-19 cure vaccine. Keep quiet on this.”
Along with the recovered patients’ blood, items of personal protective equipment, thought to be stolen from factories, were the most readily available for sale.
“The word I think is passive vaccination, where the blood plasma of a recovered coronavirus patient is harvested for the antibodies and that is then used to inject into someone who may be at risk of coronavirus,” lead researcher Rod Broadhurst said.