The paper, “An Anatomy of Crypto-Enabled Cybercrimes,” takes a detailed look at how highly sophisticated criminal organizations, mainly based in Russia and North Korea, extort money from corporations worldwide. The majority of these victimized firms are in the United States. “This was actually a difficult decision to do this paper because there’s a substantial probability that I will be targeted,” Harvey said. “But we want academics to do basic research like this because it is important that policymakers make the right decisions” regarding cryptocurrency, such as bitcoin. “We believe the insights we’ve provided will help policymakers make nuanced decisions about cryptocurrency, which has a number of positive benefits, such as promoting financial inclusion, reducing transaction costs, and providing new capital for startups,” Harvey added. But the risks associated with cyber criminals can also be great, as was seen last year when cybercriminals disrupted gas distribution in the eastern U.S. by successfully hacking Colonial Pipeline.
Read full research : Unraveling How Cybercriminals Extort Businesses Worldwide.