BlockDefenders - Making blockchain safer for everyone

Emerging AI-driven cyber threats: How criminals attract victims online

March 24, 2025March 24, 2025 Jorge Santos

The rise of generative AI has resulted in ground-breaking innovation in practically every field, including, sadly, cybercrime. Tools such as ChatGPT, FraudGPT, and WormGPT have reduced the barrier to launching complex social engineering assaults, allowing even “low-skilled” criminals to accurately simulate trust, authority, and professionalism. BlockDefenders has been actively monitoring how threat actors evolve. One of the most obvious trends in 2025 is that hackers will utilize AI to help them hack systems and manipulate people. This article discusses how artificial intelligence (AI) is being used to entice and deceive…

The Bybit Hack: A Vertical Attack

March 9, 2025March 9, 2025 Jorge Santos

The recent Bybit hack surprised the cryptocurrency industry due to the sheer volume of the loss, which involved an estimated $1.46 billion in Ethereum, as well as the vertical assault approach deployed. Rather than compromising Bybit’s core infrastructure, attackers targeted Safe{Wallet}, a provider of multi-signature wallet security. The attack exposes serious gaps in Bybit’s operational security and Safe’s failure to detect unauthorised system changes. This article offers a timeline of events, analyses Safe’s security flaws, investigates Bybit’s insufficient transaction processing procedures, and discusses what crypto organisations can learn from traditional…

Fake Cryptocurrency Recovery Companies: How to Avoid Scams

February 19, 2025February 19, 2025 Jorge Santos

Cryptocurrency fraud is on the rise, and many victims seeking assistance face an additional layer of deception: fake crypto recovery companies. These malicious operations offer to restore stolen assets but often victims are tricked further with upfront payments and unreal guarantees. Additionally, scammers regularly apply follow-up scams, posing as recovery firms or police enforcement, to steal even more money from victims who have already been defrauded. In this article, we dive into why crypto fund recovery is never guaranteed, expose known fake recovery companies, and offer crucial advice on how…

AI Hype, DeepSeek, and the investor bubble: a modern Web3-style frenzy?

February 3, 2025March 9, 2025 Jorge Santos

This article reflects the author’s insights and is not a formal review. The artificial intelligence sector is experiencing a rapid surge in investment, much like past technological bubbles, such as Web3, the dot-com boom, and the cryptocurrency craze of 2017. While the term “bubble” is sometimes associated with market crashes, it does not inherently carry a negative connotation. Instead, it reflects a period of intense growth and speculation, where interest and capital rapidly flow into an emerging technology. History has shown that when excitement outpaces actual utility, market corrections are…

I Caught You, Pervert! Phishing Scams and How to Protect Yourself

January 31, 2025January 31, 2025 Sven Martinsson

Earlier this week I was contacted by an old friend who was nervous about potentially having been hacked. The message read something like this: “I got this email saying they caught me doing something disgusting. They claim to have hacked my accounts and want Bitcoin, or they’ll share everything with my friends and family. They sent it from my own email address! Is this real? Am I screwed?” We met up at a café in a grey and rainy Helsinki, her laptop and phone between us, the screen still displaying…

The Double-Edged Sword of Crypto’s Global Rise

January 24, 2025January 24, 2025 Sven Martinsson

After 6 years of working with cryptocurrencies on a deeper level, one thing is certain; Cryptocurrencies are no longer niche. For us, who are analysing trends and adoption from the slightly colder latitudes on earth, we can safely say that with over 10% of Finland’s population now owning crypto, the trend mirrors what we’re seeing globally. From the United States to Southeast Asia, Bitcoin, Ethereum, and countless other digital currencies are steadily becoming household names. This rise has been bolstered by the kind of headlines that stir excitement—El Salvador’s President…

The World of High-End Investigators: A Glimpse Into Financial Crime, Cyber Threats, and Counterterrorism

January 14, 2025January 14, 2025 Sven Martinsson

When you hear the term “private investigator,” your mind might conjure images of trench coats, dark alleys, and grainy surveillance photos. But in the world of high-end investigators, it’s a whole different game. Forget the noir clichés—these specialists operate at the bleeding edge of technology and law enforcement, tackling challenges like financial crime, corporate espionage, and counterterrorism. This isn’t about catching cheating spouses or tracking down lost pets. High-end investigators are the professionals called in when millions are missing, secrets are stolen, or entire organisations are compromised. Who Are These…

The lightning-fast Rise and Fall of Hawk Tuah Token

January 12, 2025March 9, 2025 Jorge Santos

The token was introduced on December 4, 2024, taking advantage of the popularity of social media star Haliey Welch. Promoted as an innovative project, $HAWK quickly gained traction, achieving a market capitalisation of $490 million in minutes. Within hours, the token’s value had plunged by more than 90%, leaving investors with substantial losses. Allegations of a rug pull quickly arose. Evidence of Fraudulent Practices 1. Highly Concentrated Token Holdings Blockchain analysis revealed a significant red flag: 97% of $HAWK tokens were concentrated in 285 wallets at launch. These wallets quickly…

How to Solve the Travel Rule Shortcomings

November 26, 2024January 8, 2025 Jorge Santos

Given the current Travel Rule implementation, it is time to rethink how the crypto industry approaches compliance. One of the most promising solutions is creating a public database of critical service wallets. By requiring VASPs to register and update their wallet addresses, this solution could provide a much-needed layer of transparency and accountability that the current system lacks. Standardising Compliance Data Across the Industry A public database would serve as a source of truth for VASPs and reliable information from third-party sources, allowing entities to confirm each other’s compliance status.…

Why the Current Crypto Travel Rule Falls Short

November 8, 2024January 8, 2025 Jorge Santos

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule, proposed in 2019, aimed to harmonise cryptocurrency transactions with traditional financial anti-money laundering (AML) requirements. The purpose was to prevent money laundering, terrorist financing, and other illegal actions in the fast-expanding digital asset market. However, despite laudable intentions, the current implementation of the Travel Rule has numerous flaws that limit its effectiveness in meeting its stated goals. Understanding the Travel Rule The Travel Rule mandates Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), such as cryptocurrency exchanges and custodial wallet providers, to gather and share…