After tracking the ransomware in hot pursuit, the specialists managed to restore the entire chain of actions in the blockchain.
Finnish law enforcement agencies managed to trace Monero transactions to identify the ransomware hacker, despite the anonymous features of the cryptocurrency. In October 2023, the trial of Julius Aleksanteri Kivimyaki, accused of hacking the database of the Vastaamo psychiatric clinic and extortion, began.
After receiving a refusal to pay a ransom of 40 bitcoins (BTC), the hacker began extorting money from clinic patients, receiving payments in cryptocurrency from them, which he then exchanged for Monero. According to the Finnish police, about 22,000 victims reported extortion attempts for €500 each.
The police noted that the cybercriminal sent funds to a cryptocurrency exchange without the KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure, then converted them to Monero, and then transferred them back to bitcoins through various wallets. The authorities kept the investigation confidential, but confirmed successful tracking of transactions on the blockchain.
Monero is considered untraceable due to privacy technologies such as RingCT, ring signatures, and hidden addresses. However, this case shows that cryptocurrency forensics is able to track cash flows, even when using anonymity functions.
Past research has also shown that Monero transactions were traceable to 2017. The situation calls into question the idea of complete privacy and may cause a rethinking of the role of anonymous cryptocurrency coins. The Kiwimaki trial highlights the ability of law enforcement agencies to deanonymize illegal activities on blockchains.
At the end of October 2022, Kivimaki was charged (according to Finnish authorities, he was also arrested in absentia, as he was abroad) with attempting to extort money from the Vastaamo psychotherapy center. On October 21, 2020, the Vastaamo clinic became the target of blackmail when an attacker demanded to pay 40 bitcoins in exchange for a promise not to publish confidential recordings of therapeutic sessions.
For his activities, Julius Alexanteri Kivimyaki, who at the age of 17 was accused of more than 50,000 cybercrimes, was included in the list of Interpol's most wanted criminals in 2022, and in February 2023 he was arrested in France.
Finnish law enforcement agencies managed to trace Monero transactions to identify the ransomware hacker, despite the anonymous features of the cryptocurrency. In October 2023, the trial of Julius Aleksanteri Kivimyaki, accused of hacking the database of the Vastaamo psychiatric clinic and extortion, began.
After receiving a refusal to pay a ransom of 40 bitcoins (BTC), the hacker began extorting money from clinic patients, receiving payments in cryptocurrency from them, which he then exchanged for Monero. According to the Finnish police, about 22,000 victims reported extortion attempts for €500 each.
The police noted that the cybercriminal sent funds to a cryptocurrency exchange without the KYC (Know Your Customer) procedure, then converted them to Monero, and then transferred them back to bitcoins through various wallets. The authorities kept the investigation confidential, but confirmed successful tracking of transactions on the blockchain.
Monero is considered untraceable due to privacy technologies such as RingCT, ring signatures, and hidden addresses. However, this case shows that cryptocurrency forensics is able to track cash flows, even when using anonymity functions.
Past research has also shown that Monero transactions were traceable to 2017. The situation calls into question the idea of complete privacy and may cause a rethinking of the role of anonymous cryptocurrency coins. The Kiwimaki trial highlights the ability of law enforcement agencies to deanonymize illegal activities on blockchains.
At the end of October 2022, Kivimaki was charged (according to Finnish authorities, he was also arrested in absentia, as he was abroad) with attempting to extort money from the Vastaamo psychotherapy center. On October 21, 2020, the Vastaamo clinic became the target of blackmail when an attacker demanded to pay 40 bitcoins in exchange for a promise not to publish confidential recordings of therapeutic sessions.
For his activities, Julius Alexanteri Kivimyaki, who at the age of 17 was accused of more than 50,000 cybercrimes, was included in the list of Interpol's most wanted criminals in 2022, and in February 2023 he was arrested in France.
