Various crime agencies like the FBI and other institutions have held conferences over the past decade to understand the role of cryptocurrencies in increasing cyber fraud and their uses by criminals and other terrorists.
The introduction of cryptocurrencies has brought up the second life to currencies which everybody is getting excited about. You can buy the goods virtually and pay for them virtually at the same time. Since these cryptocurrencies are out of the scope of any central governments and other agencies dealing with their nations’ laws and regulations, there lies a huge opportunity scale for the criminals to launder the most money out of it. You can also make profits by trading bitcoin through computingforgeeks.com
After a decade, when the digital transactions had an evolution, these agencies still understand the possible areas of fraud that have increased vastly and their impact on the cybersecurity post introduction of Bitcoin.
Before the introduction of cryptocurrencies
Initially, when it all started, the most common mode of getting access to the user’s system was to send them a link through their email, and once the user clicks on that link, the hacker has access to their system and networks, there were limited modes of payment at that time. These hackers would usually try to transfer their money through Bank accounts, but the authorities would mostly be successful in tracing such transactions, and the hackers would get caught.
After the introduction of cryptocurrencies
With the introduction of cryptocurrency Bitcoin by Satoshi Nakamoto in the year 2009, it became easier for criminals and fraudsters to operate. The most significant rewards for the cybercriminals with the introduction of Bitcoin were that they could now operate in a decentralized manner without the involvement of any central authority like a bank. They could remain anonymous till the completion of the transaction. And the money that you hold cannot be identified by anybody as you only need a number to access your wallet and not any specific identity.
It has been found out that there are more than six million people that are currently holding Bitcoin wallets and use the same for carrying out transactions like buying themselves a beer or purchasing a movie ticket. The numbers of retailers who are accepting Bitcoin as their accepting payment option are rapidly increasing. Along with these legal uses, the usage of Bitcoin in the black currency is also going on a regular basis where people are using it for the purchase of weapons and other illicit goods involving drugs.
With the increasing usages and ownerships of Bitcoins, it can be anticipated that the criminals are in seek of an opportunity to launch a cyber attack. There are developers in the market that are producing software and tool kits that could be used online to get into the darknet and exchange your Bitcoins by converting them into cash. These developers usually make bucks by taking a cut of the money that has been hacked out of the user’s account. As these softwares are too sophisticated and easily accessible, it can be anticipated that the scale of attacks that are coming would be huge.
It’s not easy to access the most potent level of fraud that can be carried out of Bitcoin by hackers, but in some cases, it has made its users cry. It has been surveyed that more than 40% of companies are on the target of these criminals across the world. In the case of the few currencies, the ransom money that hackers ask for is not worth the effort and time required to discuss with the IT cell if there is any other alternative.
Bitcoin is almost going to be everywhere involved when its end would be illicit. Forging the train tickets, stealing bank accounts, buying weapons and guns online on the black markets are some of its uses. And the dark web that is being used to carry this out is highly encrypted, making its identities hard to trace. Ethereum is another rival that is seen to be emerging as a successor to Bitcoin. But for now, Bitcoin is the one that is dominating.
