Crypto Forensics Breakthrough: Finnish Authorities Trace Monero in High-Profile Hack
The National Bureau of Investigation in Finland has reportedly made significant progress in tracing Monero (XMR) transactions as part of an ongoing investigation into the criminal trial of Julius Aleksanteri Kivimäki.
Kivimäki stands accused of hacking a private mental health firm’s database and demanding ransom payments in cryptocurrencies.
According to local media reports, prosecutors unveiled new evidence on January 22nd, revealing a crypto trail that led to Kivimäki’s bank account.
The alleged hacker had supposedly demanded 40 Bitcoin, equivalent to approximately 450,000 euros at the time, in exchange for not exposing records belonging to over 33,000 patients from psychotherapy service provider Vastaamo.
When the ransom went unpaid, Kivimäki purportedly targeted individual patients.
Finnish police claim that the hacker received payments in Bitcoin, sent the funds to a non-compliant Know Your Customer (KYC) exchange, converted them into Monero, and then transferred them to a dedicated Monero wallet.
Subsequently, the funds were reportedly sent to Binance, where they were exchanged for Bitcoin once again before being moved to various other wallets.
The local authorities have maintained confidentiality and have not disclosed further details regarding their on-chain analysis.
Interesting day in Finland. #vastaamo pic.twitter.com/FupGQ9fWWE
— Joe Tidy (@joetidy) January 19, 2024
Monero is well-known for its strong privacy features, with its official webpage claiming it to be “untraceable.”
The cryptocurrency employs privacy-enhancing technologies such as Ring Confidential Transactions (RingCT), ring signatures, and stealth addresses.
RingCT mixes users’ transactions, obscuring the true source of funds, while ring signatures conceal
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