Provider of analytical solutions CipherTrace launched a mobile application that allows you to determine whether certain coins in the Bitcoin and Ethereum blockchains are connected with criminal activity. This is written by CoinDesk .

According to company representatives, the CipherTrace Scout application uses existing tools, but it provides more opportunities for identifying, tracking and documenting criminal transactions in the field.

In particular, in the process of tracking addresses, the application identifies coins that could be used in illegal activities, including darknet purchases and ransomware attacks requiring ransom in cryptocurrencies.

As CipherTrace financial crime and legal compliance analyst Julio Barragan explained, after a user enters a specific address, CipherTrace Scout generates a report, marking suspicious addresses as “high probability” of use by criminals.

“In fact, you can get ahead of the police in high-risk areas by finding allegedly“ stained ”coins. This data can then be shared with analysts who will very quickly determine the origin of the funds, ”he said.

Casey Bon, a high-tech crime expert and instructor at the National White Collar Crime Center, where he teaches police agents how to use cryptocurrency transaction tracking tools, notes that Chainalysis and CipherTrace are the most popular solutions.

However, if Chainalysis technologies can be considered a kind of federal standard, then CipherTrace Scout uses a very popular visualization among law enforcement agencies.

“We can visualize transactions. I can track the path from A to B and then start creating a visual display of transactions, which is often understood more easily, ”says Casey Bon.

He also noted that the launch of CipherTrace Scout took place at a time when there was an increase in the use of cryptocurrencies in street crime – prostitution, drug sales and child pornography.

“Young drug dealers on the streets have technically become more savvy and started trading online with cryptocurrencies,” Bon added.

Julio Barragan also noted that the increase in the use of cryptocurrencies in crime is also facilitated by the wider spread of bitcoin ATMs.

“Acquiring a crypto becomes very easy, and it is used in street crime, ” said CipherTrace analyst.

Recall, according to the August report of CipherTrace , from the beginning of 2019, cybercriminals stole $ 4.3 billion in cryptocurrencies.

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