The current set of law needs to be adapted to the ever changing world of cryptocurrencies. U.S. regulators are struggling to find ways to deeply understand and later organize revised laws.
Not too long after, The House of Representatives formed a joint force between the SEC and CFTC specialized in fintech to better understand and regulate cryptocurrencies.
This public-private task force recently submitted a report to the Biden administration that includes recommendations to address the regulation of cryptocurrencies in relation to the fight against ransomware.
White House Urged to Tighten Crypto Regulation
The report titled “Combating Ransomware” was escalated to the Biden administration a week ago, with 48 recommendations, mostly aimed at tightening crypto regulation.
This taskforce is composed of volunteer experts from the crypto industry, legal specialists, government officials, cybersecurity experts, and international organizations.
Most of the ransomware payments are typically done in crypto, mainly because they are difficult to trace.
One of the key reccomendations from the tasforce, is that Governments should require crypto traders immediate compliance with these existing laws: Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and Combatting Financing of Terrorism (CFT).
Other recommendations relate to developing new means to incentive voluntary sharing of crypto payment indicators, in other words, voluntary information sharing between cryptocurrency entities and law enforcement.
New Challenges for Law Enforcement
The complexity of a decentralized network and anonymity policies enhances the challenge of identifying and punishing ransomware criminals. Crypto outlaws can also hide the trace of their transactions through cryptocurrency ‘mixing services.’”
Members of the taskforce specialized in ransomware include representatives of the FBI and U.S. Secret Service (USSS), together with volunteers from overseas such as the U.K. National Crime Agency (NCA), the U.K. National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s National Cybercrime Coordination Unit.
As of last year, the ransomware flagellum implied nearly $350 million worth of cryptocurrency lost to criminals and the number of ransomware victims increased 311% in 2020.
