According to Chainalysis, almost one million Bitcoin (BTC) is held by illicit actors in the space with over half being held by darknet markets. Bitcoin held by illicit entities. Source: Chainalysis. Illicit markets currently have 585,000 BTC in their possession, scams have 99,000 BTC, stolen funds constitute another 205,000 BTC, and all others hold an additional 3,000 BTC — a grand total of 892,000 BTC. According to Chainalysis, only 0.32% of all current Bitcoin flows are tainted by illicit activity. Laundering of illicit Bitcoins. Source: Chainalysis. Exchanges play a pivotal role Regardless of origin, the top destinations for illicit Bitcoin …

Cybersecurity experts are warning that the Twitter hack on July 15 shows that the social network needs to strengthen its security in order to avoid a worse black swan scenario with serious consequences. In the most recent incident, attackers launched a crypto giveaway scam by posting phishing messages through the hijacked profiles of celebrities and high-ranked political personalities worldwide, collecting over 13 Bitcoin (BTC) from the victims. The attack could have been worse Ilya Sachkov, CEO of threat intelligence firm Group-IB, believes the attack demonstrated a “huge problem of low financial literacy and bad cyber hygiene.” He told Cointelegraph: “This …

If the company’s jobs site is any indication, Twitter has been openly hiring for security positions in the months leading up to this week’s notorious hack. According to the company’s job search, Twitter posted several key job descriptions pertaining to company security two months ago. The company was (and still seems to be) hiring for a senior infrastructure security engineer, senior security engineer, two senior application security engineers and staff product manager for security and data protection among several others. A job description for one of these positions focuses on the reduction of security risks across the company: “As a …

There are still 14 victims of the massive Twitter hack that could still get their Bitcoin back. These victims sent some Bitcoin to a hacker address, but their transactions are still unconfirmed on the Bitcoin network. They are currently hanging in limbo, or Bitcoin mempool. These transactions seem to be unconfirmed after many hours because the senders designated a very low transaction fee that’s unattractive to miners. Bitcoin Core developer Wladimir van der Laan confirmed this to Cointelegraph. “Miners pick the highest fee-rate transactions, but also might have some minimum fee below which they won't mine transactions at all,” he …

The hackers who conducted the massive Twitter hijacking on July 15 do not appear to be sophisticated Bitcoin (BTC) users, as they left trails leading to and from major exchanges that presumably hold the keys to their identities. Address bc1qxy summary. Source: Crystal Blockchain. The Bitcoin address that hackers used to solicit illicit donations is bc1qxy2kgdygjrsqtzq2n0yrf2493p83kkfjhx0wlh. A couple of hours into the hack, the perpetrators started moving Bitcoin into other addresses. The Bitcoin trail they are leaving behind suggests that they are not terribly sophisticated when it comes to blockchain technology. They are reusing the same addresses, they are not …

A dark web drug lord and a Nebraskan pharmacist pled guilty to federal charges on July 13 after both were accused of conspiring to bomb a competing business. According to the indictment by the U.S. Department of Justice, 32-year-old William Burgamy from Maryland was the alleged owner of an illegal pharmaceutical site called NeverPressedRX. The site sold oxycodone and a number of other drugs. His supplier, Hyrum Wilson, is the owner of a store called Hyrum’s Family Value Pharmacy. The two were found to have conspired to firebomb a competing Nebraskan pharmacy, though the two men were arrested before the …

The two Nigerians jetsetters who filled their Instagram accounts with pictures of their ostentatious wealth were extradited from Dubai to the United States. According to the FBI, they were able to convert millions of dollars into Bitcoin (BTC) via the Gemini exchange. Transaction summary for Bitcoin address 16AtGJbaxL2kmzx4mW5ocpT2ysTWxmacWn. Source: Crystal Blockchain The two are Olalekan Jacob Ponle, also known as “Mr. Woodbery,” and “Mark Kain,” and Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, who used the aliases “Ray Hushpuppi” and “Hush”. The FBI complaint focused on the former’s activities and how he used Bitcoin to transfer the stolen funds. Business email compromise — 1,500 …

U.K.-based cryptocurrency exchange Cashaa reported that hackers stole more than 336 Bitcoin (BTC). The company has ceased all the crypto-related transactions, however, users were reportedly not affected by this hack. The company suspects that the hackers are based in east Delhi, India. The company claims it has filed a cybercrime incident report to the Delhi crime bureau with acknowledgment number 20807200031555 under the cryptocurrency crime category. Cashaa suspects a piece of malware was installed onto the system that facilitated exchange transfers, such as user withdrawals. The malware notified the hacker when an employee logged into the account on July 10 …

The South Korean National Assembly will host a talk titled "How to boost transparency in cryptocurrency transactions" on July 10. This news comes amid a recent child porn scandal that involved crypto transactions. According to the Kukto Ilbo, the seminar will discuss topics related to money-laundering prevention and the creation of a system that oversees crypto transactions. Preventing money laundering through dark web crypto transactions The initiative is led by Democratic Party Congressman, Lee Soo-jin. The Blockchain Law Association and blockchain media representatives from South Korea will also join the seminar. A special act law —already approved in the plenary …

As interconnectivity turns the world into a global village, cyberattacks are expectedly on the rise. According to reports, the tail end of last year saw a spike in the average amount of payments made to ransomware attackers, as several organizations were forced to pay millions of dollars to have their files released by malware attackers. Apart from the fact that the current pandemic has left many individuals and corporations vulnerable to attacks, the notion that cryptocurrencies are an anonymous and untraceable payment method has led many ransomware attackers to demand payment in Bitcoin (BTC) and other altcoins. Just recently, a …

A report released by major crypto exchange Binance illustrates how scams targeting cryptocurrency investors attempt to gain credibility. In the report published on June 30, the exchange explained that its Binance Sentry risk investigation service observed reports of fraudulent investment schemes promising quick or exponential returns on cryptocurrency investments. The frauds do not just concern crypto but also forex, binary options and contracts for difference (CFDs). Binance published the report after a Bitcoin (BTC) scam targeted the residents of Winnipeg, Canada, in late June. Scams are often well-organized, big operations Scam organizations are frequently the subject of regulatory warnings but …

A Russian national behind the cybercriminal enterprise Infraud Organization has pleaded guilty on June 26 to racketeering conspiracy, due to his role as a co-founder and admin of the dark web-based carding portal which generated profits over $568 million. According to the announcement made by the U.S. Department of Justice, or DOJ, 33-year-old Sergey Medvedev, also known under the pseudonyms “Stells,” “segmed,” and “serjbear,” claimed responsibility for his role in the organization created in October 2010 by a Ukraine national, Svyatoslav Bondarenko. Medvedev pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge James C. Mahan in the District of Nevada. What is …