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The cryptocurrency landscape has expanded over the past several years and so does the unlawful activities within its space. With that in mind, the United States and the United Kingdom governments have teamed up to combat this threat.
U.S. and U.K. collaboration against crypto crooks
On Friday, the Department of Justice in the U.S. revealed that National Security Division and Criminal Division’s Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco, alongside its officials, recently met up with U.K.’s Home Secretary Priti Patel in Washington D.C. on Thursday.
Further, the Justice Department stated that the said meetup is for them to talk about their deep partnership in battling several risks to their respective nations’ collective security, as this includes fighting cybercrime, terrorism, and illegal finance.
The agency added that both representatives of the two superpowers have agreed and committed themselves to intensify their focus on the unlawful utilization of cryptocurrency including the instances of ransomware. Also, both parties assured each other that they will be continuing their talks regarding the growing threats to national security.
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National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team
The United States government has been in a constant battle against ransomware strikes. About a month ago, the Principality of Monaco revealed that they’ve launched this National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team which is a Justice Department initiative that aims to combat and prosecute the “criminal misuses of cryptocurrency, particularly crimes committed by virtual currency exchanges, mixing and tumbling services, and money laundering.”
It was also in October that U.S. President Joe Biden stated that the country will be banding together 30 nations to put a halt to the illegal use of crypto and similar digital assets.
Meanwhile, FBI Cyber Division’s Assistant Director Bryan Vorndran stated in a House Committee on Oversight and Reform hearing that steep prices of cryptocurrencies are propelling criminal rings and individuals practicing ransomware.
The said hearing is said to be a portion of a congressional inquiry into multi-million-dollar ransomware strike on notable U.S. firms this year. Major companies like JBS Foods and the Colonial Pipeline Co. were heavily hit by these attacks.
Vorndran further explained that they have not noticed a decline in the instances of reporting ransomware attacks in the past six months. He also revealed that they credited that to the fact that it is profitable for those who do no-gooders. Additionally, it was partly also because of the valuation of cryptocurrencies, though another part of it is due to both the agency’s infrastructure and systems being also vulnerable.
Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.
