Cryptocurrencies In Focus At Cybercrime Event

This week in Barcelona, the Anti-Phising Working Group's eCrime 2015 even saw leaders from several sectors come together to discuss the changing landscape of cybercrime. On Tuesday, the event's expert panel

and explained how the quickly developing industry has created an unmet need for better cybercrime controls when it comes to digital currencies.

APWG chairman Dave Jevans spoke at the event and warned participants that the advent of cryptocurrencies has created an entirely new world where cybercrime can thrive. He said digital currencies are suffering from the same issues as other online firms like phishing and fraud, but that the research needed to combat crimes in that space is severely lacking.

At the APWG summit, Head of Cyber Intelligence at Fox inTELL Maurits Lucas criticized digital currencies all together, saying they were wracked with the same problems as physical currencies before banks were created. He told audience members that "a lot of the issues that we're facing with cryptocurrencies today are the exact reasons why we thought up the institution of a bank in the first place."

The summit also discussed the probability that cryptocurrencies would be able to appeal to the masses, with most attendees agreeing that with the current landscape of cybercrime, that was unlikely. With consumer protections minimal and regulation still in its early stages, most average people are uninterested in getting involved with cryptocurrencies. Despite that, the APWG vowed to continue including cryptocurrency cybercrime as a topic at future events, saying that the sophistication behind bitcoin attacks are not to be ignored.