The ongoing fight against crypto thieves | FT-Tech

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In March of this year, Hacker carried out one of the greatest cryptocurrency robberies of all time. There is a growing list of security violations in cryptocurrencies, such as the theft of more than $ 600 million of cryptocurrencies from the Poly Network program last August. In 2021, cryptocurrencies worth around 3.2 billion US dollars were stolen, an increase of 516 percent compared to the previous year. A factor that drives this- hackers who use five times the growth of the decentralized financial or defi room last year, where algorithms process all transactions and there are no human interaction between the parties.

About $ 2.2 billion in funds were stolen from defi projects, an increase of 1,330 percent compared to 2020. For the owner of digital assets, secure storage technology remains crucial. Owners use a unique, private key, a long password to access their crypto. The keys and therefore crypto can be kept in online or mobile wallets that enable quick access, but offer the least safe method for storing crypto. A secure alternative uses a device that is not connected to the Internet, known as a cold storage. The options include physical USB devices, offline computers or sophisticated hardware wallets, small USB-like devices.

but also other specialized third-party services protect the crypto-assets of customers, for example by storing private keys in safe that are protected by human guards or systems with facial recognition and fingerprints. Fraud, ransomware and theft rose by $ 79 percent last year. Nevertheless, transactions with illegal addresses in 2021, with only 0.15 percent of the total crypto trade volume, represented an all-time low. And law enforcement authorities and supervisory authorities have become better when it comes to combating crime in connection with cryptocurrencies.

However,

cybercriminals are increasingly using their own high -tech tools and techniques to avoid discovery. One of them is chain hopping, jumping between different cryptocurrencies, often in a quick consequence. Another includes the use of tumblers or mixers, services of third -party providers, which mix illegal funds with clean cryptos before distributing them again. Around 15 percent of all proceeds from crimes flowed through mixers in 2021. Mixers can be sorted out increasingly. And mixer has to be disguised by mixers can be difficult for criminals. Meanwhile, supervisory authorities and law enforcement agencies are increasingly acting against illegal transactions.

In March, for example, the British National Crime Agency called for regulation of decentralized crypto mixtures, while the legislature of the European Union supported stricter traceability rules for the transfer of cryptocurrencies. Change is expected. But in an industry in which the participants are used to moving quickly, the responsibility among the regulatory authorities remains step.