On Wednesday, the U. S. Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that investigators dismantled a large child pornography program called Welcome to Video (WTV) in March 2018.
Unfortunately, WTV is not the first online site to host this type of terrible content. But officials say he was one of the first to settle for bitcoin bills in exchange for downloads, and through those bills investigators tracked the site’s operators and users.
Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis wrote in a blog post on Wednesday that it had provided researchers with software to analyze WTV’s Bitcoin activity on its blockchain ledger.
This investigation led to the discovery of several cryptocurrency exchanges used through the child pornography site’s customers. Investigators then contacted those exchanges and obtained data on account holders who sent cash to WTV, adding copies of their IDs and addresses.
The Justice Department’s investigation led to the arrest of South Korean WTV operator Jong Woo Son and 337 child pornography users in 12 countries, the U. S. added. In addition, investigators rescued at least 23 minors who were suffering “active abuse” through theArray users, according to the DOJ’s announcement.
“Our message to those who produce, distribute and obtain child pornography is clear,” Jessie Liu, the U. S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told reporters Wednesday. “They can check to hide technology, but we’ll locate them and we’ll arrest and prosecute them. “
READ MORE: ‘One of the worst forms of evil’: More than 330 arrested for destruction of child pornography site [NPR]
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