Money Laundering 101, and why Joe is worried
Summary: Cisco Talos' Threat Source newsletter lays out money laundering as a three-step process - Placement, Layering, and Integration - and notes that cryptocurrency suits it well because it lags regulatory standards, is largely anonymous, and can be mixed and sent to decentralized exchanges without KYC or AML controls. The author cites Geoff White's book Rinsed and Chainalysis' crime blog, argues that law enforcement attacks on laundering infrastructure work, and warns that shifted regulatory climates could let laundering happen more easily.
Why it matters: Ransomware cartels keep operating because paid ransoms in Bitcoin can be laundered back into spendable funds, so disrupting that laundering path is what actually puts the brakes on the crime - and the author's stated fear is that a changed regulatory climate will make that laundering easier.
Read the original at Cisco Talos ↗
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