Cybercriminals Are Now $1.2 Billion Richer

As reported by Reuters, New York, – $1.2 billion has been stolen by Cyber criminals in cryptocurrencies since 2017. This figure is according to the estimate from the Anti-Phishing Working Group released on Thursday. Ever since the popularity of bitcoin rose nearly 1,500 digital tokens have put the spotlight on the unregulated sector.

The estimates were part of the nonprofit group’s research on cryptocurrency and include reported and unreported theft.

In an interview with Reuters, Dave Jevans, CEO of cryptocurrency security firm CipherTrace, said: “One problem that we’re seeing in addition to the criminal activity like drug trafficking and money laundering using cryptocurrencies is the theft of these tokens by bad guys.”

Jevans is also chairman of the APWG.

Of the $1.2 billion, Jevans estimates that only about 20 percent or less has been recovered, noting that global law enforcement agencies have their hands’ full tracking down these criminals.

The European Union’s new General Data Protection Regulation, which comes into force from May 25, will prove to be a dampener. The investigations of criminal activity will likely take a back step due to this regulation.

“GDPR will negatively impact the overall security of the internet and will also inadvertently aid cybercriminals,” said Jevans. “By restricting access to critical information, the new law will significantly hinder investigations into cybercrime, cryptocurrency theft, phishing, ransomware, malware, fraud, and crypto-jacking,” he added.

GDPR, which passed in 2016, aims to simplify and consolidate rules that companies need to follow in order to protect their data and to return control of personal information to EU citizens and residents.

The implementation of GDPR means that most European domain data in WHOIS, the internet’s database of record, will no longer be published publicly after May 25. WHOIS contains the names, addresses and email addresses of those who register domain names for websites.

WHOIS data are a fundamental resource for investigators and law enforcement officials who work to prevent thefts, Jevans said.

He noted that WHOIS data is crucial in performing investigations that allow for the recovery of stolen funds, identifying the persons involved and providing vital information for law enforcement to arrest and prosecute criminals.

What Jevan meant to say is that “All the bad guys will flow to Europe because you can actually access the world from Europe and there’s no way you can get the data anymore. So what we’re going to see is that it’s not only the European market, but the world market will take the brunt.