Researchers say more than $400 million U.S. worth of stolen cryptocurrency went to groups “highly likely to be affiliated with Russia.”
Researchers with Chainalysis also claim that “a huge amount of cryptocurrency-based money laundering” goes through Russian crypto-companies.
Chainalysis said it was able to follow the flow of money to and from the digital wallets of known hacking groups using public blockchain transaction records. Analysts say they know which hacking groups are Russian because they display various characteristics.
The latest findings are further evidence that many cybercriminal groups operate either in Russia or in the surrounding Commonwealth of Independent States, an intergovernmental organization of former Soviet countries.
A major international operation was launched in 2021 to stop cryptocurrency hackers after many high-profile and disruptive attacks – for example on Ireland’s health service and an oil pipeline in the U.S.
Alleged cryptocurrency hackers have been arrested in Romania, Ukraine, South Korea and Kuwait in recent months. The U.S. has also successfully retrieved millions of dollars from the digital wallets of multiple criminals.
For years Russia has denied that it harbours cyber criminals and hackers.
