The CIB has published a report on the illicit use of cryptocurrencies, which was commissioned by the Washington Field Office of the United States Secret Service. Entitled “The Use of Non-State-Sponsored Cryptocurrencies by Criminal Organizations”, the 30-page report (PDF) is the product of a semester-long open-source research project that was conducted by the CIB’s Applied Intelligence Project.

The report identifies a critical need for intensifying international efforts to identify and locate the individual actors behind illicit cryptocurrency use. It also outlines a number of policy options, such as legislation requiring cryptocurrency trading platforms to record users who make suspiciously high numbers of transactions. At the operational level, the report discusses options such as: acquiring the ransomware sold by organizations providing ‘ransomware as a service’ (Raas) to identify coding vulnerabilities; constructing simulated brokerages that criminals could resort to in order to convert illegal cryptocurrency to fiat currency; and authoring software to surveil transactions made through cryptocurrency mixers that support criminal organizations.

The executive summary of the report is available online in PDF format, here. Hard copies of the report can be obtained by contacting the CIB. The report was authored by Critical Mission Center directors Hannah Albert, Brandon Macallair and Alejandro Olivares. The technical overview section was authored by Senior Analyst Nathan Wynkoop. Ryan Lindsey, Sarantis Markaris, Andrew Safer, Noah Ankenbrand, Mason Marlowe, Brenden Stell, Joshua Koval, and Jordan Maple served as Senior Analysts on this project. The editorial overview and supervision was conducted by CIB Faculty Mentor Dr. Joseph Fitsanakis.

The CIB wishes to thank Special Agent Gabriel Cazares, of the Secret Service’s Washington Field Office. Generous funding for this project was provided by the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts and the Department of Intelligence and Security Studies at CCU.