The Treasury Department accused Suex OTC, SRO of
facilitating transactions involving illicit proceeds for at least eight
ransomware variants, its first such move against a virtual currency exchange
over ransomware activity.
"Exchanges like Suex are critical to attackers' ability
to extract profits from ransomware attackers," Treasury Deputy Secretary
Wally Adeyemo said in a call with reporters previewing the announcement on
Monday evening. The action "is a signal of our intention to expose and disrupt
the illicit infrastructure using these attacks."
Hackers use ransomware to take down systems that control
everything from hospital billing to manufacturing. They stop only after
receiving hefty payments, typically in cryptocurrency.
This year, ransomware gangs have hit numerous important US
companies in large scale hacks. One such attack on pipeline operator Colonial
Pipeline led to temporary fuel supply shortages on the US East Coast. Hackers
also targeted an Iowa-based agricultural firm, sparking fears of disruptions to
grain harvesting in the Midwest.
In 2020 ransomware payments reached over $400 million, more
than four times the level in 2019, Anne Neuberger, deputy national security
adviser for cyber, told reporters on the call.
The threat has grown so prominent that US President Joe
Biden reportedly told Russian President Vladimir Putin during a July meeting
that "critical infrastructure" companies should be off limits to
ransomware gangs. Such groups often operate from Russia or Ukraine, according
to cybersecurity experts and federal prosecutors.
Officials on the call said the administration is updating
guidance on sanctions to encourage victims of ransomware attacks to share
information with law enforcement.
The Treasury said an analysis of known Suex transactions
shows that over 40 percent of them involved illicit actors. While some
exchanges are exploited by bad actors, others like Suex, "facilitate
illicit activities for their own illicit gains," the agency added in a
release.
"Rogue cryptocurrency exchanges have long been key
enablers for ransomware gangs," said Tom Robinson, chief scientist and
co-founder of blockchain analysis firm Elliptic in an emailed statement.
"This action by the US government sends a clear signal that it will not
tolerate this activity, wherever it is based."
The sanctions, included in a 2015 executive order targeting
cyber criminals, block Suex's access to all US property and prohibit Americans
from transacting with the company.
Suex OTC is a private company based in the Czech Republic,
according to Refinitiv's Eikon. © Reuters
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