Monroe emerges as the preferred cryptocurrency for cybercriminals

While Bitcoin leaves traces of transactions in its main blockchain, the “privacy coin” Monero is designed to cover the sender and receiver as well as the amount exchanged. As a result, the tool has become increasingly sought after by criminals such as ransom gangs, which has led to new problems in law enforcement. Monroe's rise comes as officials in a series of series compete to crack down on cybercrime. Bold attacks, notably the breach of the Colonial Pipeline, the main oil artery that feeds the East Coast of the United States. “We have seen ransomware groups specifically switch to monero,” said Bryce Webster-Jacobsen, Division Manager. Information in GroupSense is a cyber security group that has helped an increasing number of victims pay their debts. “[Cybercriminals] have realized the ability to make mistakes with Bitcoin, which allows blockchain transactions to reveal their identities.” According to Prep Calvo, Threat Analyst at Emsisoft, regarding JBS's meatpacking bag, this year it has eliminated the option to pay for bitcoins and only requested Monroe.

Meanwhile, DarkSide, the group responsible for the colonial pipeline hack, and Babuk, who attacked Washington DC police this year, both allow payments in any cryptocurrency, but victims who pay more in bitcoin get 10 to 20 percent premium. Justin Ehrenhofer, a crypto compliance expert and member of the Monroe Developers Association, said at the start of 2020, the gangs’ use of ransomware was a “compilation error.” Today, it is estimated that about 10 to 20 percent of the ransom will be paid individually, and that number is likely to rise to 50 percent by the end of the year. Money n-content -head-3 ">Big Money

Monero was launched as an open source project in 2014 by a Bitcoin community user nicknamed “Thankful_for_tayay.” “A fundamental flaw,” adding that “privacy and anonymity They are the most important aspects of electronic cash.”

“The main goal is for the transaction to be anonymous — to make the money private and payable,” he said, arguing that bitcoins should be rejected in favor of a completely private financial system.” We can look like cash, where a $10 bill is like another, and the merchant doesn't know where it came from."

While the price of the coin has more than quadrupled since the beginning. By 2020, with the mainstream coins Cryptocurrency, its total market capitalization is still Bitcoin exchange: according to CoinMarketCap data, compared to about $5 billion to $727 billion.

However, this is a follow-up.It has inspired the office among privacy idealists and anti-publish crypto enthusiasts like Ehrenhofer , who are dedicated to preserving its code and using advanced mathematics to ensure that its transactions cannot be traced It is now reported that this is the third largest developer community of any cryptocurrency, after Bitcoin and Atrium.

But Monroe has been embroiled in controversy since its inception due to its links to illegal payments and money laundering. Dr. Tom Robinson, chief scientist and founder of Elliptic China Block Intelligence Group, said a growing number of marketplaces on the Dark Web exclusively accept Monroe for selling everything from weapons to drugs. "This has been a huge change over the past year." According to Ernhofer. He said negotiators were "building liquidity relationships" necessary to facilitate payment in the event of a ransom demand. ad

hidden paths

no numeric sequence for monero, increase law enforcement It's a problem, which usually works with parsing teams Cryptocurrencies in the private sector to track suspicious transactions in the digital Bitcoin office.

In its 2020 report, Europol listed privacy coins as one of the factors that “make the search for cryptocurrencies more difficult and are expected to present a significant challenge in future research.” "Appear more prominently."

In September of last year, the US Internal Revenue Service offered $625,000 to each contractor who could develop tools to help track Monroe. The contract has since been awarded to cryptocurrency group Chainalysis and Integra FEC data analysis group.

Other crypto forensic groups are quietly trying to do the same. CipherTrace CEO Dave Goans said his company began working on the coin more than two years ago under a contract with the US Department of Homeland Security and filed patent applications as part of the work, but no further details are shared.

Some experts find it unlikely that ransomware cartels would have a monopoly on Monroe because the difficulty of obtaining it would make victims less expensive.

Much refers to liquidity challenges and availability. This means that only small transactions may be possible. “If you choose a coin that is too opaque, buying the same coin may make it more expensive. It is unpredictable in negotiations,” said Eric Friedberg, co-chair of Aon-owned Aster Friedberg Cybersecurity Group. Its transparency, it is not possible to determine if you are dealing with sanctioned people - which can jeopardize severe penalties.

Many experts say US law has so far refrained from separating any particular cryptocurrency when the law was enacted, yet many crypto exchanges have avoided mentioning privacy coins for fear of regulatory scrutiny because authorities Increasingly insisting on higher standards for your knowledge, customer and money laundering.

As a result, some ransomware negotiators are concerned about any involvement with monero.

“If a customer wants to do something with their privacy currency, we don't support it,” Bill Siegel, CEO of Coveware, told the offender. B - ransom negotiator. "We understand what the regulatory approach is and want it to be beneficial to law enforcement."

© 2021 Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved by redistribution, copying or modification in any way.

Tags: monroe, emerges, preferred, cryptocurrency, cybercriminals