Book Review: Investigating Cryptocurrencies

As the saying goes, “Follow the money.” Regardless of one’s philosophical argument on the merits of a decentralized currency controlled by the masses and not a single government entity, criminals are utilizing the technology to their own ends specifically because of the lack of a paper trail. “Investigating Cryptocurrencies: Understanding, Extracting, and Analyzing Blockchain Evidence” was written for cyber and financial investigators and provides the necessary background, techniques, and methodologies needed to investigate crimes involving cryptocurrency transactions. Author Nick Furneaux states:

“… a digital forensic investigator, a forensic accountant, or even an Open Source Intelligence gatherer … need to know about this subject.”

Nick Furneaux has 20 years of experience providing cyber security, forensic consultancy, and training to companies and law enforcement institutions in the UK and across Europe, the United States, and Asia. Nick is the Managing Director of CSITech Ltd and Director of the online forensic training company CSILearn Ltd. His experience with both conducting investigations and instructing courses was clearly evident while reading the book, where Nick not only could go quite deep into the content while explaining it in a way that stuck.

Overview of Investigating Cryptocurrencies

While the book primarily focuses on Bitcoin, the author would frequently discuss the technical differences between Ethereum and Bitcoin. Obviously, the book could not cover all cryptocurrencies in existence, but the author points out that from an investigation standpoint all cryptocurrencies work fundamentally in the same way. The techniques and methods you learn when reading “Investigating Cryptocurrency” can easily be applied to any cryptocurrency.

The book contains a total of 275 pages and consists of 15 chapters with the book separated into two parts. Part I Understanding the Technology, consists of seven chapters which provide the reader with the prerequisite knowledge needed before carrying out (Read more...)