The Dark Web Antinalysis Tool, which allowed cybercriminals to know if their cryptocurrency funds would be traced as “illicit,” has closed its doors after attracting excessive attention in the crypto community.
Antinalysis, a crypto tracking tool that helped cybercriminals identify whether their addresses and funds were displayed as illicit on cryptocurrency exchange platforms cryptocurrencies, centralized, was forced to close its doors after attracting excessive attention in the crypto community over the weekend, which began to worry about the use of the tool for money laundering and other illicit activities.
Elliptic co-founder and chief scientist Tom Robinson tweeted about the crypto tracking platform's shutdown.
Elliptic is a forensic analysis company in blockchain dedicated to providing information to companies, authorities, regulators, governments and more to help in the management of financial crimes in the crypto industry. On its website, the company published a report detailing that Antinalysis was being used by cybercriminals and malicious actors to hide fraudulent transactions, although the anonymous developer of the tool denies that it was created for such a purpose.
It may interest you: LocalBitcoins integrates two Elliptic tools for cryptocurrency surveillance
Antinalysis and cryptocurrency tracking
The Elliptic report, written by Tom Robinson, notes that Antinalysis “allows cryptocurrency launderers to test whether their funds will be identified as proceeds of crime by regulated exchanges”, making it a very important tool for cybercriminals and malicious actors who want to hide their criminal actions.
By knowing in advance whether an address or its cryptocurrencies would be identified as illicit, cybercriminals could opt for other options to exchange their funds, rather than risking using centralized platforms. Robinson highlighted that authorities and those responsible for compliance need to be on the lookout for this new tactic by cybercriminals. Previously, crypto tracking tools such as Antinalysis were only available to regulated service providers and not to the general public.
Elliptic noted that Antinalysis' accuracy in tracking and identifying funds was not entirely efficient, but that it still gave cryptocurrency launderers a significant new ability to hide their illicit funds from authorities. Those who used this tool were required to pay $3 for each verification.
Surveillance and privacy on the blockchain
According to Elliptic, cybercriminals are beginning to “fight blockchain analysis” to escape from authorities and Antinalysis is proof of this.
However, the developer of the tool and also developer of the dark web marketplace Incognito Market, stated, According to BBC News reporter Joe Tidy said the tool was not only developed to help cybercriminals hide their funds but also to help crypto users identify whether they have received flagged cryptocurrency, thereby helping them escape government surveillance of the industry and ensuring the fungibility of cryptocurrencies. Robinson also acknowledged that the tool was not only used by cybercriminals, although it was very beneficial to them.
Hacks, ransomware and cryptocurrencies
Tools like Antinalysis can be very useful nowadays, when hacks, exploits and ransomware attacks seem to be becoming more popular in the crypto industry. Most hackers and cybercriminals who carry out these attacks expect to receive payments in cryptocurrencies, due to the ease that these digital assets offer to transfer value in a short time, without intermediaries, cross-border and at low cost.
However, for many, the problem arises when trying to convert funds from cryptocurrencies to fiat money, as was the case with the recent hack of Poly Network.
The protocol DeFi The company Tether Limited, which suffered losses of $613 million, began receiving the stolen funds back a day after the exploit. Although the hacker or hackers who carried out the attack say that they did not actually intend to steal the funds, but rather exploit the protocol for fun and before the developers hid the vulnerability, for several experts the return of the money was motivated by the impossibility of exchanging crypto assets without being detected, thanks to the transparency of blockchain technology. In fact, Tether Limited, the company responsible for the issuance of the USDT, identified a Poly Network attacker address, blocking $33 million of the protocol's stolen funds that were held at that address.
With tools like Antinalysis becoming widely available, exchanges will need to beef up their analysis tools to avoid receiving funds that are linked to illicit activities. Additionally, authorities may begin to exercise greater vigilance over the crypto industry.
Continue reading: Organized crime uses fiat money, not Bitcoin, says Silver Lake's Hutchins
