2023-12-20 16:45:54
To date, it was unknown to what extent methodological limitations and incomplete data affected income estimates for Bitcoin-using cybercriminal groups. A new study questions the existing figures to date on the income of cybercriminals with Bitcoin.
The study is the work of Gibran Gómez, Kevin van Liebergen and Juan Caballero, researchers at the IMDEA Software Institute in Spain.
The study reveals the full magnitude of the financial impact of cybercriminal activity.
In general, it is widely accepted that cybercriminals’ income is underestimated due to a lack of coverage on cybercriminals’ campaigns, such as the full set of Bitcoin addresses they use to receive payments from their victims. This latest research, for the first time, is able to quantify the magnitude of this underestimation. Additionally, research shows that some estimation methodologies can grossly overestimate revenue, and implement an estimation tool that avoids such methodological errors.
The study’s conclusions come from a meticulous analysis of more than 30,000 payment addresses used by various cybercriminal groups, involved in activities such as ransomware, clippers, sextortion, Ponzi schemes, gift scams and cryptocurrency exchange scams.
A key contribution of this research is that the study authors are able to quantify for the first time the magnitude of the underestimation. To do this, they analyze the DeadBolt ransomware, which encrypts data hosted on storage servers connected to the internet.
In many cases, the money obtained through cybercrime is more abundant than is believed. (Illustration: Amazings/NCYT)
Researchers are able to identify the entire set of payment addresses belonging to DeadBolt, estimating his revenue at $2.47 million, a figure 39 times higher than previous estimates. These results not only provide new and insightful data on the magnitude of cybercrime, but also highlight the importance of innovative approaches to collecting accurate data in the fight against online criminal activity.
Cryptocurrency payments are widely used by cybercriminals. For example, according to the United States Federal Trade Commission in 2022, cryptocurrencies were the payment method most reported by fraud victims, above other payment methods such as credit cards and bank transfers. Among cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin leads, followed by Ethereum, and much further behind other cryptocurrencies such as Monero and Cardano.
This pioneering research will undoubtedly have a profound impact on the cybersecurity and law enforcement communities, and will provoke a new look at how to combat cybercrime and dismantle their financial networks. The study is a testament to the importance of constantly evolving methodologies and tools in the fight against digital criminal enterprises.
El estudio se titula “Cybercrime Bitcoin Revenue Estimations: Quantifying the Impact of Methodology and Coverage”, y fue presentado recientemente en el congreso Proceedings of the 2023 ACM SIGSAC Conference on Computer and Communications Security. (Fuente: IMDEA Software)
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