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Do Dark Web and Cryptocurrencies Empower Cybercriminals?

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Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime (ICDF2C 2021)

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Abstract

The dark web is often associated with criminal activities such as the sale of exploit kits using cryptocurrencies as payment. However, the difficulty in determining the identities of dark website owners and the tracing of the associated transactions compounds the challenges of investigating dark web activities. In this study, we explore how cryptocurrencies have been involved in cybercriminal activities on the dark web and the factors that drive cryptocurrency investments. Then, we present several recommendations and guidelines for prospective investors to help identify determinant factors for assessing investment risks in the cryptocurrency marketplace. We also present several potential research opportunities in cryptocurrency.

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Acknowledgment

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Fund of China (NSFC) research fund for International Young Scientists (Reference No. 6211101164).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Information Management, Nanjing University (NJU), PO.Box 210023, Nanjing, People’s Republic of China

    Milad Taleby Ahvanooey & Mark Xuefang Zhu

  2. Institute of Computer Science, Faculty of Electronics and Information Technology, Warsaw University of Technology (WUT), Warsaw, Poland

    Wojciech Mazurczyk

  3. Department of Information Systems and Cyber Security, University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), San Antonio, TX, 78249-0631, USA

    Max Kilger & Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo

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  1. Milad Taleby Ahvanooey
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  2. Mark Xuefang Zhu
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  3. Wojciech Mazurczyk
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  4. Max Kilger
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  5. Kim-Kwang Raymond Choo
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Milad Taleby Ahvanooey or Mark Xuefang Zhu .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. School of Computer Science, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Pavel Gladyshev

  2. State University of New York, University at Albany, Albany, NY, USA

    Sanjay Goel

  3. DFIR Science, Champaign, IL, USA

    Joshua James

  4. Missouri University, Rolla, MO, USA

    George Markowsky

  5. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY, USA

    Daryl Johnson

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© 2022 ICST Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering

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Taleby Ahvanooey, M., Zhu, M.X., Mazurczyk, W., Kilger, M., Choo, KK.R. (2022). Do Dark Web and Cryptocurrencies Empower Cybercriminals?. In: Gladyshev, P., Goel, S., James, J., Markowsky, G., Johnson, D. (eds) Digital Forensics and Cyber Crime. ICDF2C 2021. Lecture Notes of the Institute for Computer Sciences, Social Informatics and Telecommunications Engineering, vol 441. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06365-7_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06365-7_17

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-06364-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-06365-7

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