{"id":333435,"date":"2018-05-25T02:00:20","date_gmt":"2018-05-25T02:00:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wncen.com\/?p=333435"},"modified":"2018-05-24T23:27:54","modified_gmt":"2018-05-24T23:27:54","slug":"report-criminals-have-stolen-1-2-billion-in-cryptocurrencies-since-2017","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wncen.com\/news\/ai-and-tech\/report-criminals-have-stolen-1-2-billion-in-cryptocurrencies-since-2017\/","title":{"rendered":"Report: Criminals Have Stolen $1.2 Billion in Cryptocurrencies Since 2017"},"content":{"rendered":"
New estimates have found that criminals have stolen around $1.2 billion in cryptocurrencies since the start of 2017, further highlighting how the market is becoming a lucrative market to criminals.<\/p>\n
The figure was released by the\u00a0Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG), which was looking into the cryptocurrency market in addition to reported and unreported theft, reports Reuters<\/a>.<\/p>\n Dave Jevans, who is chair of the APWG, and CEO of\u00a0cryptocurrency security firm CipherTrace, said:<\/p>\n “One problem that we\u2019re seeing in addition to the criminal activity like drug trafficking and money laundering using cryptocurrencies is the theft of these tokens by bad guys.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of the figure believed to be stolen by criminals, only around 20 percent have been recovered. However, the report adds that with the new EU\u00a0General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) law coming into effect today, this will see police investigations into criminal activity taking a step back.<\/p>\n Jevans added:<\/p>\n “GDPR will negatively impact the overall security of the internet and will also inadvertently aid cybercriminals. By restricting access to critical information, the new law will significantly hinder investigations into cybercrime, cryptocurrency theft, phishing, ransomware, malware, fraud and crypto-jacking.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The implementation of GDPR means that companies will need to follow rules that protects customer data that they are still in contact with. Companies that aren’t in contact with customers are required to return that personal data to EU citizens and residents.<\/p>\n