Signal or Noise? The DPRK On-Chain Case Designed to Exhaust Investigators
What began as a seemingly standard phishing case escalated into one of the most convoluted on-chain investigations we’ve seen this year, combining DPRK-linked activity, cross-chain malware delivery, and hidden data embedded directly into blockchain transactions.
The attackers used transaction data itself as command-and-control infrastructure, hopping across Ethereum, BSC, TRON, Polygon, and multiple bridges - not to maximize theft, but to complicate attribution and exhaust investigators.
My takeaway: not every artefact uncovered here is necessarily meaningful… some elements feel deliberately planted to mislead, slow analysis, or send researchers down costly dead ends. This case reinforces that modern crypto investigations aren’t just about “following the money” anymore, but about disentangling signal from intentional noise across code, infrastructure, and on-chain behavior. It’s a reminder that persistence is now a core investigative skill.
When Crypto Scams Backfire: Tracing a CSAM Network to Real Faces
This Czech investigation shows how crypto scams tied to CSAM can unravel fast once on-chain activity is taken seriously and followed into the real world.
What stands out isn’t sophistication on the criminals’ side, but how ordinary their mistakes were - reusing wallets, cashing out locally, and assuming victims would never report a crime that exposed themselves.
For me, this case reinforces a simple truth: blockchain doesn’t just expose perpetrators, it quietly builds a map of everyone orbiting an illicit ecosystem… and once investigators pull one thread, the whole structure can collapse.
More weekly top stories:
Polish crypto sanctions debate by Robert Nogacki
Inca digital on a Thai-Cambodian center for crypto scam networks.
Exmo russian thread by Richard Sanders
How Crypto Exchanges Process Withdrawals by Thi Nguyen
Garantex is back?
More stories from this week:
See you next week!
