Crypto Crime – Practical Comments

Publication date: October 14, 2024

Cryptocurrency crime refers to any illegal activity involving the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, or others. Some common types of cryptocurrency crime include:

1. Fraud: This can include scams, Ponzi schemes, and other types of fraudulent activities where criminals use cryptocurrencies to deceive victims and steal their money.
2. Hacking: Hackers may target cryptocurrency exchanges or individual wallets to steal cryptocurrencies from their owners.
3. Money laundering: Criminals can use cryptocurrencies to launder money by converting illegal funds into cryptocurrency and then transferring the funds to different accounts.
4. Ransomware: Ransomware attacks involve encrypting a victim’s computer or files and demanding payment in cryptocurrency in exchange for the decryption key.
5. Darknet markets: Cryptocurrencies are often used to purchase illegal goods and services on darknet markets, such as drugs, weapons, or stolen personal information.

How to counteract against this kind of threats

Sanctions are rising from 2021 because of increase of interest in those particular areas.

List of sanctions is still expanding. One of them is entry on special list called “Designated Nationals And Blocked Persons (SDN) List entries”.

The Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List is a list maintained by the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). The list includes individuals, entities, and organizations that are subject to economic sanctions and restrictions imposed by the U.S. government. If a person or entity is listed on the SDN List, U.S. persons and businesses are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them, and any assets belonging to the listed person or entity that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are frozen. Violations of these sanctions can result in significant penalties and legal consequences.

Apart from this list there can be found other sanctions useful which are more recognisable among people like criminal prosecution, asset forfeiture, civil penalties or deplatforming known as boycott of websites, groups which committed crimes described in first subtitle like for example money laundering.

Ransomware attacks

Ransomware attacks are a form of cyberattack in which a malicious actor encrypts the victim’s data and demands payment, typically in cryptocurrency, in exchange for the decryption key. These attacks often target businesses and organizations, and can have devastating effects on their operations and finances.

Like other cyber strikes analogically those attacks are growing stronger meaning they are more profitable to attackers.

In today’s world we don’t have only one way to attack somebody especially in cyber area. Ransomware attacks has a lots of variants. Here are some key strains:

• WebCurrency – It exploits a vulnerability in Microsoft Windows and spreads rapidly through networks. It demands payment in Bitcoin and threatens to delete encrypted files if payment is not made.
• Locky – It came out in early 2016 and it typically spreads through spam emails with malicious attachments and encrypts files on infected systems. It demands payment in Bitcoin and has been associated with several high-profile attacks on businesses.
• Ryuk – It’s a ransomware which rely on phishing emails and encrypts files on infected systems. It also demands payment in Bitcoin. Targets are business and large organizations.