Cybercriminals, hackers, malware and ransomware launchers, website spoofers and other financial fraudsters will rethink their strategy, after Binance Africa today revealed a sustainable strategy to tackle financial fraud.
Many financial institutions in Africa have fallen prey to these criminals, who have exacted a devastating effect like huge financial losses.
Binance Africa, a cryptocurrency firm is all out with a tactical strategy to curtail and extinguish these devastating attacks which have put public savings at greater risk and loss of trust by clients in banks and other financial institutions.
The strategy is named blockchain. It is a software system installed in an internet-based financial setting. It helps to detect and bring down suspicious financial operations. It was revealed by Binance Africa’s Director Mr Emmanuel Babalola.
It is expected to turn the tide against fraudsters and emerge a major game-changer in favour of banks and other financial institutions, not forgetting other sectors whose accounts and financial systems are internet-based, making them prone to cyber-attacks and hackings.
By using blockchain, financial institutions can easily spot suspicious chains with malicious and illicit motives intended to endanger the savings of customers in different financial institutions.
As more and more financial institutions and other sectors, including both private manufacturing companies and government ministries like health adapt internet-based digital financial systems, financial criminals are not just relaxed.
They have successfully innovated new modalities to illegally rob funds from these institutions through massive ransomware attacks, and other illicit activities like web spoofing, fake visa issuance.
For instance; according to the data released by Interpol Uganda on October 17th this year, Ugandan banks lost over USD. 4 million to hackers in the past year. The theft, according to Interpol director Mr Charles Birungi, was carried via technology and involved bank fraud like fake visa issuance.
In 2016, SERIANU, an information technology services and business consulting firm, published the Africa cyber security report, which indicated that banks lose huge sums of money to hackers, who connive with employees of these institutions.
Mr Bababola revealed that his firm carried out an experimental process, intended to prove the efficiency and effectiveness of the blockchain methodology. The strategy, according to him successful curtailed a cybercriminal ring laundering over USD 42 million in ransomware attacks.
The clique, also known as FANCY CAT has for years orchestrated several cyberattacks, money laundering activities from dark web operations, sophisticated ransomware attacks which cost financial institutions around the globe, about USD.500 million.
“The FANCY CAT takedown was made possible by a blockchain analysis by Binance which showed a network of money launderers living inside macro exchanges, depositing and withdrawing from each other to clean the money,” said Mr Babalola.
He also added that after realising the potential of this approach, Binance aggressively took proactive steps to disrupt illicit activities using a two-pronged mechanism, which includes deploying their detective mechanisms to spot and fish out suspicious accounts, and collaborating with law enforcement agencies to bring down and prosecute these criminals.
He said that as more and more institutions shift to sophisticated digital technology, measures should be put in place to ensure that clients’ funds are secure and safe.
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