The New Frontier Of Bitcoin Bandits

Cybercriminals spent years hunting for new ways to extort money. Tyler Moffitt explores how cryptocurrency has unleashed a crime wave of ransomware and cryptojacking

- Tyler Moffitt

Basic ransomware attacks – where a cybercriminal will demand payment in exchange for usually sensitive information or something they’ve taken from your computer – have been around since the mid-2000s. Criminals have been experimenting with and evolving how they take money from victims and the emergence of cryptocurrency and its utility to criminals has proven itself over the years. As technology, digital currency and online payments have evolved, so have the tactics used by cybercriminals to extort money.

THE BEGINNINGS

Early iterations of basic ransomware attacks would impersonate the FBI and demand payment to avoid the exposure of the nefarious activities they claimed their victims had been doing. All money was made through Ukash and MoneyPak gift cards, which were available for purchase at local shops. Victims would enter the PIN on the back of the card to pay the criminals. However, as with all crime, if enough victims reported the activity to the FBI or police, a huge effort would be needed to track the criminals and try to identify them.

During this time, the anonymous online market Silk Road was appearing and experimenting with Bitcoin as its chosen currency. The underground black market, hidden on the dark web, was the ideal place to acquire goods and conduct illegal activities away from law enforcement’s eyes. For years, the marketplace thrived and proved Bitcoin worked well for monetary transactions.

All of that ended when the FBI seized Silk Road and arrested its founder in 2013. The site was shut down and the value of Bitcoin took a sharp dip. However, it didn’t take long for the cryptocurrency to bounce back and since then it has seen several booms that resulted in eye-watering values, more than anyone could have possibly foreseen during the Silk Road years.

THE RISE OF RANSOMWARE