Washington: The Biden administration on Tuesday unveiled sanctions against a cryptocurrency exchange Officials said its alleged role in enabling illicit payments from ransomware attacks is part of a broader crackdown on the growing threat.
The Treasury Department accused Suex OTC, SRO, of facilitating transactions involving illicit proceeds for at least eight ransomware variants, the first such move against the virtual currency exchange over ransomware activity.
“Exchange ransomware attacks like SouX are critical to attackers’ ability to profit from ransomware attacks,” Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Ademo said in a call with reporters previewing the announcement on Monday evening. The action is “an indication of our intention to expose and disrupt illegal infrastructure using these attacks.”
Hackers use ransomware to destroy systems that control everything from hospital billing to manufacturing. They stop only after receiving a huge payment, usually in cryptocurrencies.
This year ransomware gangs have extensively hacked several important US companies. One such attack on pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline resulted in temporary fuel supply shortages on the US East Coast. The hackers also targeted an Iowa-based agriculture firm, raising fears of disruption in grain harvesting in the Midwest.
Ransomware payments reached more than $400 million in 2020, more than four times that in 2019, Anne Neuberger, Cyber’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters on the call.
The danger has increased so much that the US President Joe Biden It reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July meeting that “critical infrastructure” companies should be out of bounds for ransomware gangs. According to cyber security experts and federal prosecutors, such groups often operate from Russia or Ukraine.
Officials on the call said the administration is updating guidance on restrictions to encourage victims of ransomware attacks to share information with law enforcement.
The Treasury said an analysis of known SuX transactions showed that more than 40% of them involved illegal actors. While some exchanges are exploited by bad actors, others, such as Suex, “facilitate illegal activities for their own illicit profit,” the agency said in a release.
“Rogue cryptocurrency exchanges have long been major supporters of ransomware gangs,” Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, said in an emailed statement. “This action by the US government sends a clear signal that it will not tolerate this activity, no matter where it is based.”
The sanctions, included in a 2015 executive order targeting cybercriminals, block Suex’s access to all US assets and prevent Americans from transacting with the company.
According to Refinitiv’s Eikon, Suex OTC is a private company based in the Czech Republic.
The Treasury Department accused Suex OTC, SRO, of facilitating transactions involving illicit proceeds for at least eight ransomware variants, the first such move against the virtual currency exchange over ransomware activity.
“Exchange ransomware attacks like SouX are critical to attackers’ ability to profit from ransomware attacks,” Treasury Deputy Secretary Wally Ademo said in a call with reporters previewing the announcement on Monday evening. The action is “an indication of our intention to expose and disrupt illegal infrastructure using these attacks.”
Hackers use ransomware to destroy systems that control everything from hospital billing to manufacturing. They stop only after receiving a huge payment, usually in cryptocurrencies.
This year ransomware gangs have extensively hacked several important US companies. One such attack on pipeline operator Colonial Pipeline resulted in temporary fuel supply shortages on the US East Coast. The hackers also targeted an Iowa-based agriculture firm, raising fears of disruption in grain harvesting in the Midwest.
Ransomware payments reached more than $400 million in 2020, more than four times that in 2019, Anne Neuberger, Cyber’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters on the call.
The danger has increased so much that the US President Joe Biden It reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July meeting that “critical infrastructure” companies should be out of bounds for ransomware gangs. According to cyber security experts and federal prosecutors, such groups often operate from Russia or Ukraine.
Officials on the call said the administration is updating guidance on restrictions to encourage victims of ransomware attacks to share information with law enforcement.
The Treasury said an analysis of known SuX transactions showed that more than 40% of them involved illegal actors. While some exchanges are exploited by bad actors, others, such as Suex, “facilitate illegal activities for their own illicit profit,” the agency said in a release.
“Rogue cryptocurrency exchanges have long been major supporters of ransomware gangs,” Tom Robinson, chief scientist and co-founder of blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, said in an emailed statement. “This action by the US government sends a clear signal that it will not tolerate this activity, no matter where it is based.”
The sanctions, included in a 2015 executive order targeting cybercriminals, block Suex’s access to all US assets and prevent Americans from transacting with the company.
According to Refinitiv’s Eikon, Suex OTC is a private company based in the Czech Republic.
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