These are the cryptomixers hackers use to clean their ransoms

guest · Nov 16, 2021

These are the cryptomixers hackers use to clean their ransoms
November 16, 2021
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ptomixers-hackers-use-to-clean-their-ransoms/

Cryptomixers have always been at the epicenter of cybercrime activity, allowing hackers to "clean" cryptocurrency stolen from victims and making it hard for law enforcement to track them.

When threat actors steal cryptocurrency or receive it as a ransom payment, law enforcement or researchers can see what cryptocurrency wallet the funds were sent to.
Mixers allow threat actors to deposit illicitly obtained cryptocurrency and then mix it in a large pool of "random" transactions.
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When done, the "cleaned" crypto is sent to a different address owned by the threat actors that have not been used before and is unknown to law enforcement. For the use of this service, the cryptomixers take a commission (usually 1-3%) from the mixed cryptocurrency.
Also, these services have to avoid keeping any logs or any piece of information that could help identify users and link them to their assets.

Researchers at Intel471 have explored the cybercrime underground to find which platforms are thought to be the most reliable in eradicating the transactions' trace, and they found four notable examples.
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Today’s mixing scene
Today, hackers use four popular cryptomixing services, namely Absolutio, AudiA6, Blender, and Mix-btc.
They support Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dash, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Monero, and Tether.

Mixers charge either a flat fee or a dynamic fee for using their services. Intel471 explains that "dynamic fee."

"Some services allow users to choose a “dynamic” service fee, which is most likely done to complicate investigations into illicit cryptocurrency funds by altering the amount being laundered at different stages of the process, making it more difficult to tie the funds to a specific crime or individual," explains the report by Intel471.
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Intel471: How cryptomixers allow cybercriminals to clean their ransoms

All the mixers listed a minimum balance for mixing services, which varied from 0.001 bitcoin (about US $60) for Blender to 0.006 bitcoin (about US $375) for mix-btc. Maximum amounts varied significantly, with Absolutio limited to 2 bitcoins (about US $125,700), Audi A6 to 27 bitcoins (about US $1.7 million) and Blender to 2,600 bitcoins (about US $163 million). Mix-btc did not specify an upper limit for transactions.

Additionally, all four mixers charge transaction fees, collected as a percentage of the total amount of cryptocurrency to be mixed. Some services allow users to choose a “dynamic” service fee, which is most likely done to complicate investigations into illicit cryptocurrency funds by altering the amount being laundered at different stages of the process, making it more difficult to tie the funds to a specific crime or individual.
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