OFAC Warns That Firms Helping Victims With Ransomware Payouts Risk Violating ...

The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued an advisory highlighting the sanctions risk American citizens face if they help facilitate ransomware payments. In the advisory, the OFAC says it will “continue to impose sanctions on those who materially assist, sponsor, or provide financial, material, or technological support for these activities.” In the document, the OFAC argues that acceding to ransomware demands–which are normally settled using cryptocurrencies–not only emboldens cybercriminals but also....

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released an alert that warns private industry in the country about incidents of harassment of victims made by ransomware gangs, such as the well-known Doppelpaymer group. FBI Is Aware of Cold-Calling Tactics by Ransomware Gangs According to a PIN (private industry notification) alert regularly sent to U.S. companies to inform them about the latest updates in the cybersecurity sphere, shared by Zdnet, the FBI has been aware of incidents since February 2020, where Doppelpaymer has cold-called companies to intimidate victims by demanding them....

Malware payouts from insurance companies pose a threat to U.S. national security. Two offices of the U.S. Department of the Treasury have issued advisories on ransomware payouts, which they say pose a threat to national security. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network or FinCen reminded cryptocurrency processing companies of their duty to file suspicious activity reports when they have a reason to suspect that their services are being engaged for such payouts to sanctioned individuals:“Among these entities are digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) companies and cyber insurance....

The government agency hinted at possible additional sanctions for "financial institutions, cyber insurance firms, and companies involved in digital forensics and incident response" that facilitated ransomware payments. The United States Department of the Treasury has announced it will impose sanctions on Czech Republic and Russia-based business Suex OTC for allegedly allowing hackers to access cryptocurrency sent as payment for ransomware attacks.In a Sept. 21 advisory update, the Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, added Suex OTC to its list of Specially....

The malware authors making up the cyber gang behind the intrusive Cryptowall 3.0 ransomware, a strain of malware, have raked in an estimated $325 million from hundreds of thousands of victims around the world by demanding ransom payments in Bitcoin. The ransomware has been active since January, 2015. A cybercriminal group that develops and deploys Cryptowall 3.0 may have gathered millions of dollars of ransom in Bitcoin in this past year alone, a comprehensive study points out. Cryptowall version 3.0 the latest variant of a ransomware that is among the most effective tools used by....