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thrive

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Registered: 2023-01-04

Posts: 2,575

Cloud mining is being used by hackers and scammers to launder crypto

According to new research, nation-state actors are now using cloud mining services to launder digital assets along with ransomware actors and cryptocurrency scammers.

Blockchain analytics company Chainalysis stated in a report shared with The Hacker News that "Cryptocurrency mining is a crucial part of our industry, but it also holds special appeal to bad actors, as it provides a way to acquire money with a totally clean on-chain original source.".

Earlier in March, Google Mandiant revealed that APT43, based in North Korea, used cloud mining and hash rental services to obfuscate the forensic trail and "wash" the stolen cryptocurrency. ".

By using cloud mining services, users can mine cryptocurrencies by renting a computer and using its hash power without having to take care of the mining equipment themselves.

Chainalysis claims that other hacking groups than nation-states are also using these services in the wild.

In one case, the business cited, money was transferred to a "highly active deposit address" at an unidentified mainstream cryptocurrency exchange using mining pools and wallets connected to ransomware perpetrators.

Included in this are $19,011,000 from four ransomware wallet addresses and $14,011,000 from three mining pools, with a sizeable portion of the money being transferred through a network of middlemen wallets and pools.

Cryptocurrency laundering through cloud mining.
In this case, the mining pool functions similarly to a mixer in that it conceals the source of the money and gives the impression that it came from mining rather than from ransomware, according to Chainalysis.

The cumulative value of assets transferred from ransomware wallets to exchanges through mining pools has increased from less than $10,000 in Q1 2018 to almost $50 million in Q1 2023, indicating that the trend is picking up steam.

Not just that.
Since January 2018, 372 exchange deposit addresses have been discovered to accept at least $1 million in cryptocurrency from mining pools and any sum from ransomware addresses.

According to Chainalysis, "Overall, the data suggests that mining pools may play a key role in many ransomware actors' money laundering strategy.".

Mining pools have also found a home in the game plans of con artists like the BitClub Network, who have been caught mixing their illegal Bitcoin profits with resources from a Russian Bitcoin mining operation and BTC-e, a cryptocurrency exchange created to help launder money taken in the infamous Mt. Gox heist.

The company claimed that cryptocurrency scammers and money launderers acting on their behalf were also using mining pools for money laundering. "Deposit addresses [with receipts of at least $1 million in cryptocurrency from mining pools] have received just under $11 billion in cryptocurrency from addresses associated with scams since 2018.

Last edited by thrive (2023-06-15 19:19:13)