Crypto-currency transactions promise to be entirely anonymous. Untraceable, unidentifiable and providing absolute privacy. While this is not strictly true, it does obscure the flow of money. This led to a number of clandestine businesses adopting the technology since it challenges the existing regulatory frameworks. This led to the burgeoning of illicit activities in an area of the internet called the dark-web, with all money exchange happening in the form of crypto-currency.
This book explores the technology underlying crypto-currency, specifically block-chain, and the nature of the distributed ledger. It describes the investigative techniques used by both hackers and law enforcement agencies, detailing how forensic analysts employ sophisticated methods to uncover the identities of users in the blockchain. The book culminates in a gripping account of major investigations led by various law enforcement agencies, emphasizing the ongoing battle between anonymity advocates and authorities aiming to hold criminals accountable.
Very thrilling and insightful read, which opens a window into an area which is just an amorphous mess of buzzwords for the ordinary citizen, but holds a lot of meaning for cyber-citizens on both sides of the law.