PhD Candidate
Elena Morgenthaler is a PhD candidate in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, specialising in dark web drug markets. Her doctoral research examines how market disruptions in dark web drug markets, with a particular focus on how marketplace participants respond to changes in accessibility, including law enforcement takedowns, exit scams, and voluntary closures.
Alongside her PhD, Elena has contributed to research projects on fraud, cryptocurrencies, and money laundering. She currently works as a Research Assistant with the Griffith University Academy of Excellence in Financial Crime Investigation and Compliance.
Elena has published on crime scripts of dark web facilitated drug importation and fraud, and has presented her research at leading national and international conferences, including the European Society of Criminology Conference, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference, and the Financial Crime Investigation and Compliance Research Symposium.
She is currently a Teaching Fellow with experience in course convening and tutoring across undergraduate criminology courses. She has also supported Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students through the GUMURRII Student Success Unit at Griffith University. She is an Associate Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (AFHEA), recognising her commitment to high-quality and inclusive teaching practice.
Research Topic
Dark Web Drug Marketplace Disruptions: Perspectives of Market Participants.
Supervisors
Professor Benoit Leclerc
Dr Andrew Childs
Professor Danielle Reynald
Areas of interest
Dark Web Markets
Online Drug Markets
Digital Communities
Membership
Recent publications
Morgenthaler, E., & Childs, A. (2025). Archetyp was one of the dark web’s biggest drug markets. A global sting has shut it down. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/archetyp-was-one-of-the-dark-webs-biggest-drug-markets-a-global-sting-has-shut-it-down-259441
Morgenthaler, E., & Leclerc, B. (2023). Crime script analysis of drug importation into Australia facilitated by the dark net. Global crime, 24(3), 169-194. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17440572.2023.2212592
Leclerc, B., & Morgenthaler, E. (2023). Examining emerging fraud facilitated by the internet through crime scripts. Trends and Issues in Crime and Criminal Justice, (680), 1-28. https://www.aic.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-11/ti680_examining_emerging_fraud_facilitated_by_the_internet.pdf
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