Empowering the Enforcers: How Binance's Training Program Helps Stamp Out Cybercrime
Main Takeaways
Binance's comprehensive training sessions equip law enforcement with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle complex cryptocurrency investigations, bridging the significant expertise gap in this constantly evolving field.
With a team of experienced ex-law enforcement and financial investigators, Binance offers hands-on assistance, case advisory services, and operational support, setting us apart from other exchanges and companies in the industry.
Binance's proactive approach and significant contributions to combating crypto-related crime have been recognized globally, evidenced by accolades such as the Cyber Security Professional Award (CSPA) in Hong Kong and various other forms of acknowledgement by major law enforcement agencies.
While data show that only a small share of crypto transactions is tied to illicit activity, the increasing cryptocurrency adoption inevitably grows hand in hand with an interest from criminal actors looking to abuse the ecosystem. Therefore, mastering crypto investigations becomes increasingly important for those whose job is to combat cybercrime and financial crime. From crypto-specific crimes like hacks and rugpulls to scenarios where digital-asset infrastructure is abused for moving funds unlawfully obtained in unrelated crimes, leveraging blockchain expertise is often necessary to identify the offenders.
As the crypto industry matures and adoption increases globally, the need for specialized training in cryptocurrency investigations for law enforcement officials worldwide is becoming evident. With its industry-leading Law Enforcement Training Program, Binance is committed to supporting crime fighters by providing crucial training and resources to combat crypto-related crimes effectively, bridging the expertise gap that inevitably opens as new types of crime emerge and evolve in the digital finance space.
Why Crime Fighters Need Our Help
Law enforcement is a field that, for good reasons, is reactive and doesnât evolve overnight. Training personnel to effectively address novel crimes using new investigation techniques takes time and tremendous resources. Increasingly, agencies responsible for financial and cybercrimes around the globe dedicate more resources to cryptocurrency-related investigations. However, the pace of digital-asset adoption in both legitimate and criminal activities is much faster.
The result is a significant shortage of blockchain and cryptocurrency experts within law enforcement who can address operational needs and educate investigators and prosecutors on unique aspects of crypto-related crimes.
For example, one major difficulty lies in the pseudonymous nature of cryptocurrency transactions. While public blockchains provide transaction data transparently, law enforcement needs commercial tools to cluster and attribute addresses to different cryptocurrency services. Many agencies lack access to these tools and the proficiency to use them, which requires both training and hands-on experience.
Furthermore, cooperation between the private and public sectors on this front often poses challenges. Law enforcement needs timely access to relevant data held by cryptocurrency firms, but many services, including exchanges, do not respond in a manner that aids investigations efficiently.
Many agencies, particularly in developing nations, struggle to secure access to high-quality, up-to-the-minute training resources focused on cryptocurrency investigations. This often leads to complications as officers without proper training may conduct incorrect fund flow analysis and freeze an unrelated account in a crypto exchange or service. These missteps can have serious repercussions for exchanges and their clients.
Forms of Assistance
To bridge these gaps, Binance offers comprehensive training and sharing sessions to law enforcement partners. These sessions cover a wide range of topics from basic cryptocurrency fundamentals and user experience with wallets and cryptocurrency exchanges to advanced subjects including crypto mixers and cross-chain transactions.Â
For longer onsite sessions, we provide hands-on training focused on real-world crimes we've encountered over the years. A particularly popular topic is the details of our assistance to law enforcement and how to interpret the often complex data we provide to support investigations. However, the content of each particular session is dictated by the needs of law enforcement.Â
Additionally, Binanceâs expert Law Enforcement Training Team provides insights on recent crypto crime trends, typology and modus operandi analysis and demonstrates case studies using commercial blockchain analytics tools as well as open-source crypto intelligence tools.
Through these collaborative efforts, Binance aims to equip more law enforcement officers with the necessary knowledge and expertise to handle crypto-related cases. This proactive approach helps combat crime more effectively, ensuring a safer digital environment.
Industry-Leading Team
Binance stands out in the cryptocurrency industry with a team of approximately 30 ex-law enforcement investigators, each bringing extensive crypto or cybercrime experience. This expertise allows us to provide practical support to law enforcement agencies. When presented with a legitimate request, we provide data that often leads to the identification of suspects or significantly advances investigations.
Jarek Jakubcek, the Head of Law Enforcement Training at Binance, explains, "Most investigations of cryptocurrencies combine both traditional investigation techniques including IP tracing and open-source investigations with the information derived from following fund flows in the blockchain. For the most serious offenses, we often provide hands-on investigation assistance â something that smaller exchanges would not be able to afford."
The depth of our teamâs experience and the resources we allocate to this cause enable Binance to offer assistance ranging from basic investigation support and case advisory to facilitating cooperation among cross-border law enforcement agencies.
Carlos Mak, a specialist from the Binance Investigations team, highlights the proactive nature of this support: "At Binance, many of us are former law enforcement officers, so we fully understand the needs of the agencies. This background informs our approach, prompting us to be proactive and efficient in assisting their case investigations. We greatly value the trust of our law enforcement partners and work closely with them in developing their cases."
Results and Recognition
Binanceâs commitment to supporting law enforcement has yielded considerable and tangible results. We've assisted in large-scale investigations, leading to the dismantling of international criminal networks and the confiscation of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of funds. Our efforts have been recognized globally, with accolades such as the Cyber Security Professional Award (CSPA) from the Hong Kong Police Force, Korean Police Commissionerâs award for the Head of our LE Training, and invitations to joint press conferences with authorities like the Royal Thai Police.
Over the last few years, Binance investigators supported law enforcement officials in a wide range of scenarios where cryptocurrencies were abused, including different versions of scams and investment fraud, darkweb platforms facilitating cybercrime services, ransomware incidents as well as extremely serious criminal activities involving creation and distribution of child abuse materials, terrorism, and kidnappings. In all these cases, blockchain evidence was key to detecting the suspects.
The training we provide ultimately allows law enforcement to do such investigations on their own. This empowerment is critical: naturally, a lot of the facts are too sensitive to be shared with private parties, no matter how close the cooperation is. For us, it is important to contribute to such capacity building, because skilled investigators remove bad actors from the crypto ecosystem more efficiently, benefitting the entire industry and its participants. Additionally, skilled investigators are less likely to identify wrong suspects, which also contributes to the security of our users.
A Safer Digital World For Everyone
Another user-focused component of this work is that more efficient policing and investigations can help identify suspects and aid victims in regaining lost funds. We are committed to working closely with our law enforcement partners to facilitate the recovery of usersâ money.
In addition to operational assistance, Binance's Law Enforcement Training Program delivered over 120 onsite and online training sessions in 2023, focusing on a practical approach to investigations. Our training and support have received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the law enforcement community.
Binanceâs Law Enforcement Training Program is the backbone of our efforts to promote collaborative security in the digital-asset space. By providing essential training and resources, we empower law enforcement agencies to navigate the complexities of crypto investigations effectively. The proactive approach of our strong and well-resourced team ensures a safer digital world for everyone.
Further Reading
Binance Law Enforcement Training Day Brought Together Investigators From 86 Countries
Binance Partners With Macao Judiciary Police For First In-Person Law Enforcement Training
Binance Assists Indiaâs Enforcement Directorate in Dismantling a Major Online Fraud Operation
Binance Receives Cyber Security Professional Award From Hong Kong Authorities