Binance, a crypto exchange platform and blockchain infrastructure, is beefing up its security in the Asia-Pacific division to fight incidents of hacking, phishing, fraud and money laundering.
Toward this end, Binance appointed renowned cybercrime expert Jarek Jakubcek to lead its Asia-Pacific division. Jakubcek is a 12-year Europol veteran who worked in major cryptocurrency-related crimes that led to huge investigations, arrests, and seizures.
He will lead efforts in coordinating the takedown of malicious actors in the crypto sphere while working closely with law enforcement agencies, the exchange platform said over the weekend.
“We are joining not only the largest cryptocurrency exchange but also an exchange that is one of the most cooperative in the industry,” Jakubcek said.
Jakubcek now forms part of Binance’s security and investigations team which includes Matthew Price, Nils Andersen-Röed, Aron Akbiyikian, and global division head Tigran Gambaryan.
His role, according to Gambaryan, will be pivotal in ensuring that Binance works effectively with law enforcement to ensure security within the platform’s ecosystem and the wider crypto industry as a whole.
Apart from direct operational support, Jakubcek said there is a need for a practical cryptocurrency education in the public sector. The Binance Investigation team itself has started providing hands-on training and workshops for law enforcement agencies.
“So far, we’ve delivered training or workshops in several countries across Europe and the Americas. Due to the exceedingly positive feedback, we have already penciled many law enforcement events into our calendars and we continue to welcome any opportunity to get in touch with the community to discuss topics related to blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Binance’s anti-money laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) policies,” Jakubcek also said.
Jakubcek said no asset or a payment method is immune to criminal abuse including cryptocurrency.
“Any technology that is practical is guaranteed to be abused by criminals,” he added.
Crypto, he said, is a fast, transparent, cheap and irreversible way to transfer funds.
“Hence the great appeal for both legitimate and criminal use,” Jakubcek said.
At the same time, he said, the transparent nature of the blockchain in tracing origin and destination of funds has significantly helped in catching criminals.
Blockchain is an open-source technology where a decentralized database or “digital ledger” is shared across a network of computers populated with records that have been verified and encrypted. Once a record has been added to the blockchain it is very difficult to change.
In all, Binance, the largest crypto exchange by volume and liquidity, is fully committed to ensuring a secure and safe platform for its users and in the wider industry as a whole, Jakubcek said.
It has made strides in the areas of compliance, user protection, AML, and KYC best practices, among others and is constantly engaged in welcoming the increasing involvement and actions from regulatory bodies and governments in the crypto space. ###