Experts urge tougher KYC/AML procedures to combat Bitcoin ransomware

A group of U.S. government and industry experts предложила to strengthen compliance with KYC/AML procedures at an international level to reduce the number of ransomware attacks.

“Governments should require cryptocurrency exchanges, brokers, and off-exchange platforms to comply with existing laws, including customer identification, anti-money laundering, and financing of terrorism,” the task force report states.

The authors noted that most ransomware payments are demanded not in anonymous cryptocurrencies, but in Bitcoin due to its high liquidity, and that they use mixing services to conceal traces.

In light of this, they recommended tougher requirements for cryptocurrency firms seeking money-transfer licenses and to stop payments to malware developers through closer cooperation with law enforcement.

These measures, the experts say, should be implemented internationally:

“Laws or capabilities of a single country will not be enough to combat this global threat.”

The task force has received support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the United Kingdom’s National Cyber Security Centre, and Europol. DHS officials intend to implement a number of the recommendations proposed in the report.

По данным компании Coveware, в первом квартале 2020 года 99% платежей операторам программ-вымогателей совершались в биткоине. В первом квартале 2021 года средний размер выкупа при атаке вирусами-шифровальщиками достиг $220 298 в криптовалюте.

В целевую группу по борьбе с программами-вымогателями входят свыше 60 экспертов из компаний-разработчиков программного обеспечения, специалистов по кибербезопасности, финансовых организаций, государственных и академических учреждений, а также представителей гражданского общества.

Back in September 2020, [simple_tooltip content=’Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN)’]FinCEN[/simple_tooltip] called for tighter KYC/AML procedures. Its proposals included collection of personal information about the parties to transactions and the transactions of clients of cryptocurrency companies.

Representatives from a16z and Coinbase, as well as Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey, called these rules draconian for the industry.

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