NEW YORK—Cyber criminals are responsible for up to 10% of the total illegal profits being laundered globally, which United Nations’ figures indicate equates to about $200 billion a year.
To launder funds criminals are using a combination of cryptocurrencies such as monero, gaming currencies and micropayments, according to a study commissioned by virtualization-based security firm Bromium.
The findings on cybercriminal money-laundering and cashing-out methods are part of a study into the macro economics of cyber-crime and how the various elements link together which has been led by Michael McGuire, senior lecturer in criminology at Surrey University, Computer Weekly reported.
“This is the first time the financial flows of cyber criminals have been put together into a composite picture,” McGuire told Computer Weekly. “Law enforcement and cyber security professionals can use the study to understand how revenue generation is feeding into laundering, and how laundering is feeding into more traditional methods of money-laundering and the way cyber criminals are spending their money, so that they look at the intersections between the various networks more carefully.”