Student Crime-Fighters Make Virtual Assets Safer

CipherTrace, a cryptocurrency intelligence giant, announced that, in partnership with the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey, Middlesex University London, and the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation (BAF), it will launch the CipherTrace Defenders League. Together, the collaborating entities will empower students with training and tools to investigate crypto-related scam and fraud cases, helping to make the crypto economy safer.

The Defenders League will initially consist of graduate students from Middlebury and Middlesex and BAF students at nine universities in California. CipherTrace will train and certify students to use its powerful financial investigation software. With access to the full suite of CipherTrace tools, certified students will be able to trace funds lost in cryptocurrency fraud and theft. In exchange for class credit, students will provide services to help recover “small” losses that are typically too small for law enforcement to investigate.

CipherTrace also announced an upcoming series of CipherTrace Certified Examiner (CTCE) training events globally with boot camps also taking place in Monterey, London, Frankfurt, Singapore, San Francisco, Los Angeles and New York. By participating in these one-day training events, attendees will gain the skills required to become expert cryptocurrency financial investigators. Remote training events will also be available each month.

“We've experienced a significant increase in requests for investigative and analytic support for fraud and theft cases,” said Pam Clegg, the director of investigations and education for CipherTrace. “The CipherTrace Defenders League will be an elite corps of blockchain knowledgeable students who can conduct smaller-scale investigations. Their objective will be to produce actionable intelligence and evidence that can be used to recover stolen funds and ultimately prosecute those criminal actors responsible for the losses.”

In addition to free CTCE training, CipherTrace is providing a $4.3 million software grant to the Defenders League to help these students visualize blockchain interactions and follow the money. CipherTrace Cryptocurrency Intelligence analyzes blockchains to trace over 800 currencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Tether, Binance Coin and Litecoin.

“The partnership between Middlesex University, London and CipherTrace has enabled Digital Forensic students to develop cryptocurrency investigation skills using the full CipherTrace commercial tool,” said Sukhvinder Hara, senior lecturer in digital forensics at Middlesex University London. “Being the only UK university with commercial crypto investigation software enhances our students’ employability, particularly as they can certify as CipherTrace Certified Examiners.”

“The Middlebury Institute’s Financial Crime Management program aims to equip the next generation of compliance and intelligence professionals with the most state-of-the-art skill set,” according to Professor Moyara Ruehsen at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey, California. “The CipherTrace Defenders League provides our students with hands on experience researching and solving live financial crime cases using cutting-edge tools, allowing them to hone their skills while also performing a valuable service.”

“The students of the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation are passionate, educated and motivated to help grow the crypto economy,” said Cameron Dennis, president and founder of the Blockchain Acceleration Foundation. “This will provide students valuable real-world blockchain analytics experience using industry leading cryptocurrency tools to help victims recover stolen and scammed funds.”

As reported by CipherTrace, thefts, scams, and fraud had already topped $4 billion by the end of Q3 2019, emphasizing the urgent need for solutions to fight crypto crime and protect individual investors. The establishment of the CipherTrace Defenders League marks a significant step forward toward CipherTrace's goal of making crypto a safe, trusted and broadly adopted asset class.