Cryptocurrency Tracing and the Fight Against Cybercrime, with Andy Greenberg

The Cyber Insider

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This month’s guest on the Cyber Insider is Andy Greenberg. Andy is a senior writer for WIRED who has covered hacking, cybersecurity and surveillance for 17 years. He’s the author of the new book Tracers in the Dark: The Global Hunt for the Crime Lords of Cryptocurrency and the 2019 book Sandworm: A New Era of Cyberwar and the Hunt for the Kremlin’s Most Dangerous Hackers. The two books and excerpts from them published in WIRED have won numerous awards including two Gerald Loeb Awards for distinguished business and financial reporting, a Sigma Delta Chi Award from the Society of Professional Journalists, and the Cornelius Ryan Citation for Excellence from the Overseas Press Club. His 2012 book, This Machine Kills Secrets: How WikiLeakers, Hacktivists and Cypherpunks Aim to Free the World’s Information, was named one of the top ten “greatest tech books of all time” by The Verge.

Bitcoin, the first and most well-known cryptocurrency, was initially believed to be an untraceable form of digital cash. However this assumption turned out to be far from the truth. The public nature of the blockchain, the underlying technology behind bitcoin, allows for the traceability of every transaction. By analyzing transaction patterns and clustering addresses, it became possible to trace the flow of cryptocurrency and connect it to real-world identities.

"Every bitcoin transaction is recorded in the blockchain. That is how bitcoin functions. Instead of a bank or any other authority kind of tracking every transaction in a big database, that database is public and it's copied out to thousands and thousands of computers around the world."

By following the traces, investigators have been able to identify and apprehend cybercriminals involved in activities such as ransomware attacks and the sale of illegal goods on the dark web. However, the fight against cybercrime is an ongoing battle. As criminals adapt and develop new techniques, law enforcement and cybersecurity professionals must stay one step ahead. Greenberg emphasizes the importance of a multi-faceted approach that includes not only tracing cryptocurrency but also increasing the resilience of potential victims and implementing stricter regulations on exchanges and mixing services.

As the world of cryptocurrency continues to evolve, it is essential to recognize the traceability of transactions and the potential for law enforcement to leverage this information in the fight against cybercrime. By understanding the capabilities and limitations of cryptocurrency tracing, we can work towards a safer and more secure digital landscape.

All this and much more is discussed in this episode of The Cyber Insider podcast by Emsisoft, the award-winning cybersecurity company delivering top-notch security solutions for over 20 years.

Be sure to tune in and subscribe to The Cyber Insider to get your monthly inside scoop on cybersecurity.
Hosts:
Luke Connolly – partner manager at Emsisoft
Brett Callow – threat analyst at Emsisoft
Intro/outro music: “Intro funk” by Lowtone.