A senior US Justice Department official announces the launch of a crypto-enforcement team
Deputy Attorney General of the United States Lisa Monaco announced the launch of a National Crypto Enforcement Team at the 2021 Aspen Cyber Summit on Wednesday.
The new initiative will combine securities and banking enforcement. The team will consist of cybersecurity and money laundering experts:
Today we are launching the National Cryptocurrency Implementation Team. We will not hesitate to go after money laundering platforms and use experts, prosecutors and money laundering experts.
Despite their popularity with bad actors, Monaco has described cryptocurrencies and blockchain as “legitimate tools.” She then indicated that the US authorities managed to seize a bitcoin wallet owned by the Colonial Pipeline hacker, and recovered part of the ransom.
The US Department of Justice will make use of civil enforcement tools to prosecute those companies that do not comply with cybersecurity standards.
When addressing the recent string of ransomware attacks, Monaco said it is important to focus on the entire ecosystem that makes such attacks possible:
We make sure that we target the ecosystem that supports and fuels ransomware activity. This means cryptocurrency exchange. This means infrastructure.