Nick Weaver on Regulating Cryptocurrency

Nicholas Weaver wrote an excellent paper on the problems of cryptocurrencies and the need to regulate the space--with all existing regulations. His conclusion: Regulators, especially regulators in the United States, often fear accusations of stifling innovation. As such, the cryptocurrency space...

US Marshals Service hit by ransomware and data breach

The US Marshals Service USMS says it's suffered a ransomware attack in which a threat actor managed to get hold of sensitive information about staff and fugitives. On February 17, 2023, the attacker infiltrated a system that held information about ongoing investigations, including personally...

Dutch Police Arrest 3 Hackers Involved in Massive Data Theft and Extortion Scheme

The Dutch police announced the arrest of three individuals in connection with a "large-scale" criminal operation involving data theft, extortion, and money laundering. The suspects include two 21-year-old men from Zandvoort and Rotterdam and an 18-year-old man without a permanent residence. The...

Norway Seizes $5.84 Million in Cryptocurrency Stolen by Lazarus Hackers

Norwegian police agency Økokrim has announced the seizure of 60 million NOK about $5.84 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by the Lazarus Group in March 2022 following the Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge hack. "This case shows that we also have a great capacity to follow the money on the blockchai...

Norway Seizes $5.84 Million in Cryptocurrency Stolen by Lazarus Hackers

Norwegian police agency Økokrim has announced the seizure of 60 million NOK about $5.84 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by the Lazarus Group in March 2022 following the Axie Infinity Ronin Bridge hack. "This case shows that we also have a great capacity to follow the money on the blockchai...

Ryuk ransomware laundering leads to guilty plea

Ryuk, a mainstay of the ransomware scene for some years until it transformed into Conti and then split off into other groups after that, is back in the news again... though not in the way you might have imagined. Its not a compromise, or a surprise comeback. What we have is a guilty plea, as a...

Russian Hacker Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Linked to Ryuk Ransomware

A Russian national on February 7, 2023, pleaded guilty in the U.S. to money laundering charges and for attempting to conceal the source of funds obtained in connection with Ryuk ransomware attacks. Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, 30, was arrested in Amsterdam in November 2021 before he was extradited...

Russian Hacker Pleads Guilty to Money Laundering Linked to Ryuk Ransomware

A Russian national on February 7, 2023, pleaded guilty in the U.S. to money laundering charges and for attempting to conceal the source of funds obtained in connection with Ryuk ransomware attacks. Denis Mihaqlovic Dubnikov, 30, was arrested in Amsterdam in November 2021 before he was extradited...

Most Criminal Cryptocurrency Funnels Through Just 5 Exchanges

The crypto money-laundering market is tighter than at any time in the past decade, and the few big players are moving a “shocking” amount of currency...

[updated]Ransomware money laundering operation disrupted, founder arrested

The US Department of Justice DOJ has released information about the arrest of Anatoly Legkodymov, the founder and majority owner of a cryptocurrency exchange called Bitzlato, on money laundering charges. Legkodymov, a Russian national who lives in China, is accused of processing over $700 million...

Bitzlato Crypto Exchange Founder Arrested for Aiding Cybercriminals

The U.S. Department of Justice DoJ on Wednesday announced the arrest of Anatoly Legkodymov aka Gandalf and Tolik, the cofounder of Hong Kong-registered cryptocurrency exchange Bitzlato, for allegedly processing $700 million in illicit funds. The 40-year-old Russian national, who was arrested in...

Ex-Twitter employee Gets 3.5 Years Jail for Spying on Behalf of Saudi Arabia

A former Twitter employee who was found guilty of spying on behalf of Saudi Arabia by sharing data pertaining to specific individuals has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison. Ahmad Abouammo, 45, was convicted earlier this August on various criminal counts, including money launderin...

Interpol Seized $130 Million from Cybercriminals in Global "HAECHI-III" Crackdown Operation

Interpol on Thursday announced the seizure of $130 million worth of virtual assets in connection with a global crackdown on cyber-enabled financial crimes and money laundering. The international police operation, dubbed HAECHI-III, transpired between June 28 and November 23, 2022, resulting in th...

Raccoon Stealer admin will be extradited to the US, charged for computer crimes

The US Department of Justice has indicted a Ukrainian national for his involvement in Raccoon Stealer, a noteworthy password-stealing Trojan leased in the underground for criminals to use as part of a malware-as-a-service MaaS business model. According to court documents, Mark Sokolovsky, 26, is...

British Hacker Charged for Operating "The Real Deal" Dark Web Marketplace

A 34-year-old U.K. national has been arraigned in the U.S. for operating a dark web marketplace called The Real Deal that specialized in the sales of hacking tools and stolen login credentials. Daniel Kaye, who went by a litany of pseudonyms Popopret, Bestbuy, UserL0ser, and Spdrman, has been...

U.S. Charges Ukrainian Hacker Over Role in Raccoon Stealer Malware Service

A 26-year-old Ukrainian national has been charged in the U.S. for his alleged role in the Raccoon Stealer malware-as-a-service MaaS operation. Mark Sokolovsky, who was arrested by Dutch law enforcement after leaving Ukraine on March 4, 2022, in what's said to be a Porsche Cayenne, is currently...

Regulating DAOs

In August, the US Treasurys Office of Foreign Assets Control OFAC sanctioned the cryptocurrency platform Tornado Cash, a virtual currency "mixer" designed to make it harder to trace cryptocurrency transactions--and a worldwide favorite money-laundering platform. Americans are now forbidden from...

Romance scammer given 25 years of alone time

Romance scams are often low risk, high reward strategies for ciminals, who use them to steal large sums of money from vulnerable people in the cruellest ways possible. Once the victim wires the cash, theres a good chance that its never coming back. The perpetrator has almost certainly covered the...

BEC Scammer Gets 25-Year Jail Sentence for Stealing Over $9.5 Million

A 46-year-old man in the U.S. has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after being found guilty of laundering over $9.5 million accrued by carrying out cyber-enabled financial fraud. Elvis Eghosa Ogiekpolor of Norcross, Georgia, operated a money laundering network that opened at least 50 business...

Vulnerable children's identities used in tax fraud scheme

Fraudster Ariel "Melo" Jimenez has been sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading a "tax fraud and identity theft conspiracy" that resulted in the fraudulent claiming of tax credits, earning him millions of dollars. "Ariel Jimenez was the leader of a long-running fraudulent tax business that...