How a Blockchain Expert Fights Crypto Crime

Earlier this month, hackers nabbed over $600 million in crypto from decentralized finance (DeFi) platform Poly Network in one of the biggest crypto heists ever. The cyberattack comes hot on the heels of several major hacks throughout the year, including the ransomware attack on the Colonial Pipeline that led to brief gas shortages on the East Coast. The company paid the hackers a ransom of 75 bitcoin, or about $4.4 million at the time. 

• In 2020, $406.3 million was paid out in cryptocurrency ransoms, 337% more than the previous year. This year’s ransom payments are on pace to pass seven figures as well, according to Chainalysis.

But crime on the blockchain isn’t just a problem for big companies: Nearly 7,000 individual investors lost a collective $80 million to cryptocurrency scams from October 2020 to March 2021, according to the FTC—almost 1,000% more than in the same period the year prior.  
Illicit activity on the blockchain is heating up, from minor scams to elaborate ransomware attacks to...faking your own death? That’s what Kimberly Grauer, director of research at Chainalysis, told us is happening. Read on to hear more from Grauer about the unique challenges of fighting crypto crime.
Continue reading: https://www.morningbrew.com/daily/stories/2021/08/23/blockchain-expert-fights-crypto-crime