A global team of crypto investigators, exchanges and law enforcement agencies teamed up in a multi-day effort organized by Chainalysis to investigate networks of child sex abuse materials revealed through blockchain intelligence, the company said on Tuesday.
"Operation Lighthouse" used the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance in New York as its headquarters and partnered with law enforcement agencies around the world, including Europol, the Australian Federal Police, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and the UK’s National Crime Agency. The use of crypto in such networks has grown and been noted by authorities as an acute problem.
"Perpetrators exploit financial services, payment systems, social media and internet platforms to commit or facilitate these crimes," said Danny van Althuis, Europol team leader, in a statement. "It is therefore essential that these sectors join forces to prevent and combat online child sexual abuse and to identify those who commit, enable or facilitate it."
The operation looked into more than 29,000 cryptocurrency addresses and digital identifiers and targeted more than 100 separate forums and hubs, generating more than 14,000 leads to guide further investigation, according to Chainalysis, a blockchain intelligence firm. Suspects were located in 125 different countries, and some of them were already registered sex offenders.
Several crypto-related businesses, including payments firm Block, weighed in, as did nonprofit specialists, such as the Internet Watch Foundation.
Gavin Sather, senior program manager for anti-child sexual exploitation at Binance, said the "inherent transparency of blockchain makes it difficult for criminals to hide for long while exploiting victims."
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