It’s
almost
impossible
to
pinpoint
the
amount
of
money
that’s
laundered
globally,
but
conservative
estimates
put
it
at
anywhere
from
$800
million
to
$2
trillion,
according
to
the
United
Nations’
Office
on
Drug
and
Crimes
—
and
that’s
likely
just
the
tip
of
the
iceberg.
It’s
a
crime
that,
in
turn,
fuels
some
of
the
world’s
most
heinous
criminal
activities.
It’s
also
a
tactic
used
by
cybercriminals
to
help
try
to
cover
up
the
profits
they’re
making
from
things
like
wide-scale
ransomware
attacks.
The
rise
of
cryptocurrency
also
has
made
it
easier
for
them
to
evade
detection.
Financial
institutions,
cryptocurrency
companies,
and
other
organizations
face
increasing
fines
—
sometimes
ranging
in
the
millions
and
billions
of
dollars
—
for
failure
to
root
out
money
laundering
as
government
agencies
and
regulators
worldwide
seek
to
crack
down
on
this
scourge.
Here’s
the
bad
news
as
we
look
toward
2023:
Automation
is
going
to
make
the
problem
worse.
We
will
see
the
rise
of
money
laundering-as-a-service.
But
the
silver
lining
is
there
are
ways
to
stem
the
tide
—
and
collaboratively
reduce
bad
actors’
ability
to
do
so.
The
Crypto-Money
Laundering
Connection
A
preferred
tactic
by
cybercriminal
organizations
looking
to
grow
their
ranks
is
to
use
what
are
known
as
money
mules.
These
are
individuals
who
are
brought
in
to
help
launder
money
—
sometimes,
unknowingly.
They’re
often
lured
in
under
false
pretenses
and
promises
of
legitimate
jobs,
only
to
discover
that
“job”
is
to
help
launder
the
profits
from
cybercrime.
Back
in
the
day,
this
money
shuffling
was
typically
done
through
anonymous
wire
transfer
services.
While
they
often
got
away
with
it,
such
transfers
are
far
easier
for
law
enforcement
and
regulators
to
track.
These
days,
most
criminals
have
moved
to
using
cryptocurrency.
Its
relative
lack
of
regulatory
oversight,
coupled
with
often-anonymous
transactions,
make
it
almost
the
ideal
vehicle
for
money
laundering.
In
fact,
a
report
by
Chainalysis
found
that
criminals
laundered
$8.6
billion
in
cryptocurrency
in
2021.
That’s
a
30%
increase
from
the
prior
year.
The
Rise
of
Recruitment
Setting
up
recruitment
campaigns
for
money
mules
takes
time
and
energy.
In
their
efforts
to
obfuscate
their
true
purpose,
cybercriminals
will
sometimes
go
to
great
lengths
to
build
legit-looking
websites
for
fake
organizations
and
post
fake
job
listings
aimed
at
making
those
businesses
seem
aboveboard.
However,
automation
and
machine
learning
(ML)
will
make
this
process
far
easier
—
and
quicker.
ML
can
be
used
to
better
target
potential
recruits
in
a
faster
manner,
for
one
thing.
We
also
expect
to
see
some
of
the
manual
campaigns
replaced
with
automated
services
that
enable
bad
actors
to
move
dirty
money
through
the
layers
of
crypto
exchanges
—
that’s
going
to
make
the
process
faster
and
harder
to
trace.
And
that
means
it
also
will
be
more
difficult
to
recover
stolen
funds.
Collectively,
these
efforts
comprise
what
we’re
calling
money-laundering-as-a-service
(MLaaS),
and
it’s
going
to
become
another
tool
in
the
cybercrime
tool
chest.
Cutting
‘Em
Off
at
Their
Knees
While
cybercriminals
are
going
to
look
for
any
methodology
possible
to
make
money
laundering
easier,
that
doesn’t
mean
we
have
to
accept
this
as
a
foregone
conclusion.
The
biggest
factor
in
combating
the
rise
of
MLaaS
is
going
to
involve
public-private
collaboration
on
a
much
larger
scale.
Organizations
across
the
map
can
share
threat
intelligence
with
one
another,
contributing
to
building
a
better
defense
all
around.
It
must
be
reiterated
that
cyber
hygiene
and
education
must
be
prioritized
as
well.
No
matter
the
type
of
organization
you’re
in
or
the
role
you’re
in,
this
is
essential
for
everyone.
Everyone
can
play
a
key
role
in
helping
keep
organizations
safe
from
bad
actors.
This
includes
things
like
more
digital
literacy
—
and
how
to
recognize
a
too-good-to-be-true
job
ad
for
the
scam
it
really
is.
And
of
course,
there’s
the
concept
of
fighting
fire
with
fire
—
as
bad
actors
adopt
more
automation
and
ML-based
approaches,
so,
too,
must
defenders.
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