Australian law enforcement tracking Bitcoin use on black market
Australia's national criminal intelligence agency is tracking the use of virtual currencies such as Bitcoin on online black markets as part of its new 'Project Longstrike' operation.
The Australian Crime Commission's executive director of strategy and specialist capability, Judy Lind, today revealed the agency is now monitoring Bitcoin-enabled crime after spending the last two years building technologies capable of tracing Bitcoin transactions.
"The ACC has assessed that organised crime groups continue to make use of darknets to harbour trading in illicit commodities, including child exploitation material, illicit drugs and firearms, stolen credit card and identity data, and hacking techniques," Lind said in a statement. "The aim of Longstrike is to develop an enhanced understanding of the national and international environment in the detected misuse of virtual currencies to facilitate criminal activity."
