India Targets Cryptocurrency Crime аs Part оf Cyber Security Offensive

Published at: Feb. 19, 2019

Cryptocurrency crime forms one focus of a dedicated cybercrime lab launched by Indian authorities this week, Indian daily news outlet The Hindu reported on Feb. 19.

As part of efforts to step up the fight against internet-based adversaries, India’s Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the cyber forensic lab and Cyber Protection Awareness and Detection Centre (CyPAD), which will be operated by police in Delhi.

Within the lab, there will be a special unit focused on cryptocurrency, following years of problems involving scammers using the emerging phenomenon to commit crime.

“We are now equipped with technology to recover data from damaged hard disks, cryptocurrency analysis, malware forensic and data can be retrieved from 33,000 kinds of mobile models available in the market,” the Hindu quotes Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik as saying.

The announcement comes as India continues to make slow progress on separating the actions of criminals from legitimate usage of cryptocurrency.

Local scams encountered by police regularly make the headlines, but domestic cryptocurrency businesses have complained that the position adopted by India’s central bank has not helped create a more robust landscape.

As Cointelegraph reported, the Reserve Bank of India enacted a ban on banks serving crypto businesses in July last year, a decision that has since been challenged in the country’s highest court.

Earlier this month, a government research panel appeared to suggest Delhi was concerned about the potential impact of cryptocurrency on the stability of the rupee.

Tags
Cryptocurrencies
Crimes
India
Security
Bitcoin Scams
Related Posts
Most Significant Hacks of 2019 — New Record of Twelve in One Year
Twelve major cryptocurrency exchange hacks occurred in 2019. Of these, 11 hacks resulted in the theft of cryptocurrency while one only involved stolen customer data. In total, $292,665,886 worth of cryptocurrency and 510,000 user logins were stolen from crypto exchanges in 2019. Cryptocurrency exchanges experienced more hacks last year than in 2018, when only nine cryptocurrency exchanges fell victim to security breaches. As time goes on, you might think that cryptocurrency exchanges would become more secure. The reality, however, is that more hacks on cryptocurrency exchange are taking place year after year. In general, crypto exchanges remain unregulated, and it’s …
Ethereum / Jan. 5, 2020
Four Fake Cryptocurrency Wallets Found on Google Play Store
Malware researcher Lukas Stefanko has found four fake cryptocurrency wallets on the Google Play Store that were trying to steal users’ personal data, according to a blog post published Nov. 13. The apps were posing as cryptocurrency wallets for NEO, Tether and an extension for accessing Ethereum (ETH), MetaMask. They were purportedly designed to phish users’ mobile banking credentials and credit card information. Stefanko classified the wallets into two groups, wherein the fake MetaMask app was a “phishing wallet” and the other three apps were “fake wallets.” Once the phishing app is installed and launched, it requests the user's private …
Ethereum / Nov. 15, 2018
Riviera Beach City Council Agrees to Pay $600,000 in BTC to Ransomware Attackers
The city council of Riviera Beach, Florida has agreed to pay nearly $600,000 worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to regain access to data encrypted in a hacker attack, the New York Times reported on June 19. On May 29, the city experienced “a data security event” when a police department employee opened an allegedly infected email attachment, which eventually resulted in the online system breakdown. The hackers allegedly encrypted government records, blocking access to critical information and leaving the city without an ability to accept utility payments other than in person or by regular mail. A city spokeswoman, Rose Anne Brown …
Bitcoin / June 20, 2019
Indian Police Uncover Cryptocurrency Scam Involving BitConnect Promoter
Indian police have reportedly discovered an alleged multi-million dollar cryptocurrency scam, involving a BitConnect promoter, local media outlet the Times of India reported on June 3. The Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Gujarat, India, has accused Divyesh Darji — a promoter of now-defunct cryptocurrency investment program BitConnect that ceased its operations in January of last year — of luring people to invest into “Regal Coin,” promising unrealistic returns of as high as 5,000% on investment. A CID official said that the estimated amount of the scam reaches into the tens of millions of rupees. Per the CID, Darji began offering …
Cryptocurrencies / June 3, 2019
Are crypto and blockchain safe for kids, or should greater measures be put in place?
Crypto is going mainstream, and the world’s younger generation, in particular, is taking note. Cryptocurrency exchange Crypto.com recently predicted that crypto users worldwide could reach 1 billion by the end of 2022. Further findings show that Millennials — those between the ages of 26 and 41 — are turning to digital asset investment to build wealth. For example, a study conducted in 2021 by personal loan company Stilt found that, according to its user data, more than 94% of people who own crypto were between 18 and 40. Keeping children safe While the increased interest in cryptocurrency is notable, some …
Adoption / Feb. 26, 2022