To Catch a Bitcoin Ransomer: Inside the FBI's Cyber-Investigation Process
FBI special agent Joseph Battaglia sits at a desk between a New York police detective and an employee of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Charged with helping oversee investigations at the New York field office of the FBI's cyber division, Battaglia and his colleagues have developed methods for identifying a wide range of online criminal activities, ranging from the use of child porn to espionage. But during a recent keynote address at Fordham University’s law school in New York City, Battaglia peeled back the curtain of a different kind of investigation. Addressing a group of about 150....
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A U.S. senator has launched an investigation into the rise of ransomware attacks as well as how cryptocurrencies facilitate cybercrimes. “The investigation will also look into current oversight efforts and regulations related to virtual currencies,” the senator explained. Investigation Into Crypto’s Use in Cybercrimes U.S. Senator Gary Peters announced last week a bipartisan “investigation into [the] rise of ransomware attacks and how cryptocurrencies facilitate cybercrimes.” Peters is the chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee.....
Hackers behind the cyber-attack on OP-Pohjola and Danske Bank were demanding around 110 Bitcoins in ransom, according to the Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Sometime around the New Year, the customers of both the said banks started complaining about the difficulties in login in to their respective accounts, especially of OP who were trying to access their accounts from outside Finland. The online service halt, led by this supposedDDoS attack, remained in effect for more than a week. Meanwhile, the law authorities continued to locate the source which initiated it. A couple....
It seems like "bank grade security" doesn't really live up to its name. It was recently reported that the FBI offered a $3M reward for the suspected masterminds behind the GameOver Zeus botnet; a botnet that stole over $100M by acquiring the banking credentials of it's victims. Another report recently revealed that up to $1 billion were stolen from 100 banks in 2013. Is an all-out cyber war on banks incoming? We saw Ben Lawsky pointing out how dangerous cyber criminals can be for banks in a speech he gave at Columbia Law School. "We are concerned that within the next decade, or perhaps....
Cyber warfare has, to most people, always been a thing of movies and science-fiction books. But it looks like a harsh reality check is coming to people in the US, as Defense Secretary Ash Carter wants to elevate the status of US Cyber Command into a fully-capable weapon in the cyber warfare race. The Era of An offensive US Cyber Command. There is no denying the world of cyber warfare is changing from a defensive to a more aggressive approach. Until a few years ago, US Cyber Command was mostly designed to thwart incoming attacks from state-sponsored hackers, but things are looking very....
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has issued a warning about fake cryptocurrency apps defrauding investors. “The FBI has identified 244 victims and estimates the approximate loss associated with this activity to be $42.7 million,” said the U.S. law enforcement agency. FBI’s Crypto App Warning The cyber division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a notice Monday warning investors and financial institutions about fraudulent cryptocurrency applications. The notice states: The FBI is warning financial institutions and investors about cyber....