Cyber Crime and Crypto Currency: There Is a Link? Really?
July 15, 2021
I read a remarkable report from the diary of Captain Obvious. The entry was “Quick Take: How Cryptocurrency Turbocharged the Cybercrime Racket.” I was stunned to learn that paying for contraband, stolen videos, and Crime as a Service was helped out with allegedly anonymous digital payments “turbocharged the cybercrime racket.”
The write up reports:
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, along with the exchanges where they can be traded anonymously, have emerged as key tools for the cyber extortionists.
The article then explains how to use cryptocurrency for cyber crime, explains why bad actors love money flows which sidestep traditional financial institutions, an estimate of the amount of money stolen using cryptocurrency, a comment about how bad actors obtained payment in the pre-bitcoin days, a comment about tracing digital currency transactions, some law enforcement successes, and what steps might address this issue.
Who knew? Maybe the more than 60 vendors engaged in cyber security, the dozens of vendors monitoring obfuscated forums, and savvy bad actors who jumped at the opportunity cryptocurrency created for mixers.
It is outstanding that the Seattle Times, home of the security giant Microsoft, has revealed this startling connection between obfuscated, instant monetary transactions designed to avoid regulatory requirements of outfits like major US banks.
Pulitzer time? Absolutely. Next the hard hitting news team will report on the sun rising each morning in Seattle.
Stephen E Arnold, July
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