Technological Advances in the Fight Against Cybercrime Money Laundering

Vicomtech actively contributes to the development of innovative tools to trace illicit funds generated through criminal activities in the digital domain. As part of the European project SafeHorizon, the goal is to create barriers to criminal profit, limit sources of illegal financing, and support operations aimed at fighting cybercrime.

Ransomware attacks or online scams do not end with data or money theft: their final stage often involves turning criminal gains into seemingly legitimate funds through money laundering operations. This process, which frequently relies on the use of cryptocurrencies, involves a complex web of digital transactions that make tracking financial flows particularly difficult. In a feature published by El País, Raúl Orduna, Head of Digital Security at Vicomtech, explains: “A global, incredibly large and complex underground economy has emerged.”

In this context, Vicomtech collaborates on multiple initiatives, including the SafeHorizon project, working alongside companies, research centres, and law enforcement agencies with the goal of strengthening the European Union’s ability to tackle emerging cyber threats and organized crime. Our work focuses on detecting behavioural patterns on blockchain networks that may indicate suspicious activity, such as the use of mixers or unregistered platforms operating outside legal channels.

“We gather more or less abstract requirements from law enforcement—what information and connections they find useful. Then we look for examples where this activity can be identified, or we generate synthetic data with that structure to develop intelligent models and test them using these fictional, anonymous datasets,” Raúl explains.

Much of the current research in the fight against cybercrime is focused on understanding how attacks occur, improving defences, anticipating breaches, and mitigating intrusions. But these researchers have another key mission: tracing the money generated by criminal organisations. Their work is essential to undermining attackers’ profits, thereby reducing their economic incentive.

Through this work, Vicomtech positions itself as a strategic ally to financial entities and law enforcement agencies in the fight against digital money laundering, contributing expert knowledge and advanced technological solutions to help trace illicit funds and weaken the business model of cybercriminals.