WSJ: U.S. to curb Bitcoin payments to ransomware attackers

The Biden administration is preparing a package of measures aimed at curbing cryptocurrency payments to the hackers behind ransomware attacks. Officials expect to limit access to this form of payment, The Wall Street Journal reports, citing people familiar with the matter.

According to them, as early as next week the U.S. Department of the Treasury plans to issue new guidance for businesses. It will spell out the risks associated with facilitating payments to ransomware operators, including fines and other penalties.

Later in 2021, the United States was set to adopt new rules to counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism. They would restrict the use of cryptocurrencies as a payment mechanism in ransomware attacks and other illicit activity.

It is expected that Treasury measures will target digital wallets and platforms that facilitate asset exchanges, as well as the actors behind these operations. WSJ sources say the plan calls for targeted sanctions, not a blanket blacklist of the entire industry.

For example, actions against a Bitcoin exchange that processed ransom payments could not only halt that company’s operations but also push other players to scrutinize customer transactions more closely and avoid suspicious activity.

The publication noted that regulators in the United States are developing new rules aimed at increasing transparency in the industry. Some officials say such measures will help deter transactions by people who wish to remain anonymous.

Earlier, a member of the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs, Maggie Hassan, sent a letter to a number of agencies expressing concern about the use of cryptocurrency as ransom by ransomware programs.

Recipients include the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the IRS, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

President Biden described monitoring cryptocurrency transactions one of the possible tools in the fight against ransomware operators. By tracking ransoms paid by victims, the White House hopes to hinder ransomware operators from using digital assets.

As a reminder, in May the world’s largest American meatpacker, the company JBS, was targeted by the hacker group REvil. It paid a ransom of $11 million in Bitcoin.

Colonial Pipeline, which supplies fuel to about 45% of the East Coast population, paid hackers about $5 million in cryptocurrency. The FBI recovered most of the amount.

In early July, as a result of a ransomware attack on the American software developer Kaseya, thousands of companies were affected, and the attackers demanded $70 million in Bitcoin.

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