New research shows that Russian-speaking hackers are behind most of the cryptocurrency-related crimes, including ransomware attacks, darknet drug sales, and illegal crypto exchange activity.
Ransomware: Russian Dominance
Russian-speaking ransomware groups are responsible for a whopping 69% of all crypto proceeds from ransomware attacks in 2023, which amounts to over $500 million.
Darknet Markets: Russian Monopoly
Russian-speaking darknet markets control 95% of all crypto-based drug sales on the dark web.
Garantex: The Central Hub
Most of these illegal funds are funneled through one Russian crypto exchange called Garantex. In fact, over 80% of crypto transactions from sanctioned entities worldwide go through this exchange.
Links to the Kremlin
Many of these hackers are based in Russia and some even have connections to the Kremlin.
Funding the War Effort
There’s evidence that these crypto funds are being used to support Russia’s military operations in Ukraine.
US Sanctions
The US government has already sanctioned the crypto wallets of two Russian nationals linked to the LockBit ransomware group. These wallets were blocked after LockBit attacked the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s (ICBC) U.S. broker-dealer, disrupting billions of dollars in assets.
