Cybercrime Atlas: a prestigious project under the auspices of the World Economic Forum

Experts from the Faculty of Information Technology at Brno University of Technology have long been at the forefront of research in the field of cybersecurity, specifically in the areas of network traffic security, cryptocurrencies, the dark web, and the misuse of AI. It is therefore no surprise that they were invited to collaborate on strategic research focused on combating cybercrime on a global scale. The initiative, launched in 2023 under the auspices of the World Economic Forum, is called the Cybercrime Atlas. In the fight against cybercrime, unity is strength—effective measures require seamless cooperation between public and private institutions. After all, digital crime knows no borders. The goal of this project is therefore to eliminate the current fragmentation of knowledge and practices in the fight against cybercriminal activities.

The Cybercrime Atlas project community uses open-source research to gain new insights into the cybercrime ecosystem. Simply put, the experts involved map the landscape, individual criminal operations, criminal networks, and infrastructure using open-source information. Their goal is to gather insights and subsequently draw conclusions that help eliminate cybercrime worldwide. The project has already yielded concrete results. According to last year’s annual report, the findings gathered by the Cybercrime Atlas project in 2024–2025 were utilized in four major international campaigns aimed at disrupting cybercrime networks.

The project involves truly big names not only from the private sector and not only from Europe—the Americas, Asia, and Africa are also involved. To name a few: Fortinet, Binance, Microsoft, PayPal, TNO, Trend Micro, Interpol… and most recently, FIT VUT. What is the contribution of our researchers? On the one hand, it lies in generating expert knowledge and guaranteeing the academic accuracy of the outputs, and at the same time in developing software tools. Researchers (as well as students) associated with Dr. Vladimír Veselý will collaborate with international colleagues to create interactive materials designed to streamline the processes necessary for detecting cybercrimes that primarily exploit cryptoassets.

In recent years, cryptocurrencies and tokens have been widely used as an alternative to traditional money, thanks to the characteristics of the payments they facilitate; however, these very characteristics are repeatedly exploited by cybercriminals. The effort to ensure greater internet security for society, individuals, and organizations is certainly worthwhile. We are proud that FIT VUT is part of this global initiative.

• nearly instantaneous (i.e., settlement on the blockchain within seconds or minutes),
• cannot be forged or revoked (transactions on the blockchain are cryptographically secured and cannot be altered),
• pseudonymous or completely anonymous addresses (i.e., the inability to identify transaction participants without additional information),
• the absence of a centralized regulator (i.e., there is no one to enforce procedures related to money laundering).