THE ROLE OF BLOCKCHAIN AND DISTRIBUTED LEDGER FORENSICS IN TRACKING CRYPTOCURRENCY TRANSACTIONS

Abstract

The issue of ransomware attacks can be termed as one of the largest threats to the entire circle of cybersecurity globally where the pirates have become more extortionate with references to the amount of money to fulfill in cryptocurrencies to go unnoticed. This paper discusses the implications of blockchain and distributed ledger forensics in ransomware payment tracking and partial payments made involving use of forensic tools to trace cryptocurrency transactions, track bad performers, and privacy coins like Monero and cryptocurrency anonymization networks. The paper with the case of real-world scenarios of ransomware, such as WannaCry, Colonial Pipeline, and Ryuk, explains the advantages and disadvantages of blockchain forensics tools, such as Chainalysis and Elliptic and their increasing popularity as a ransomware weapon. Furthermore, the authors study the cooperation of law enforcement, regulatory regimes, and emerging forensic technology that would allow resolving the ransomware risks in the evolving environment. These findings show that blockchain forensics can serve as a tool of lucrative assistance in tracking Bitcoin relays, yet privacy-enhancing technologies make them chuckle when it comes to defying or halting investigations, which drives them to implement more advanced and transnational officers to find the way of overcoming the ransomware problem picture-perfectly.