Ukrainian man accused of cryptojacking his own websites

Even though the cryptocurrency markets have been bearish for some time now, there is one sector of the cryptocurrency markets where there is always money. Cybercrime is apparently alive and well in Ukraine, as an individual has been utilizing his own websites as a means to rake in illegal cryptocurrency revenue.

The suspect is a 32-year-old individual who authorities say owned an array of websites that enjoyed a significant amount of traffic. Specifically, the websites and resources of the individual boasted 1.5 million monthly visitors. The individual placed cryptocurrency mining malware software on these same websites, investigators said.

The individual also was creating and administering websites of an educational nature, and was taking advantage of the visitors’ devices power to mine cryptocurrency. It is unclear how much money was made, but the individual is facing a six-year jail term. The police confiscated a significant amount of evidence from the suspect’s apartment, including bank cards, notes, computers, and hard drives.

The news of the arrest comes amid reports that cryptojacking activities has become more prevalent than ever, with a McAfee Labs report stating that it increased exponentially in 2018.

While there are many countries where the cybercrime unit is focused on cracking down on the cryptocurrency sector, the opposite appears to be true for Ukraine. Specifically, the Ukraine cyber police actually seem to support legalization in the sector. The comments were made after it was revealed that Ukrainian officials own thousands of Bitcoin Core (BTC).

There are many high-profile individuals in the finance world and in various governments that have downplayed cryptocurrency, but not in Ukraine. The former prime minister of Ukraine has even pointed out that blockchain can help improve transparency and reduce corruption. The comments were made by Yulia Tymoshenko. Tymoshenko is running for president in Ukraine, which will be decided in several days. She is vocal about the fact that she hopes to combat government-related bribery and corruption.