US Senators Targeted Crypto After Wave Of Ransomware Attacks

US Senators targeted cryptocurrencies after the new wave of ransomware attacks as they urged more regulation as we can see more in our latest cryptocurrency news today.

The two US senators targeted crypto after the recent ransomware attacks that we witnessed on JBS and Colonial Pipeline. Both senators on the Intelligence Committee suggested over the weekend that the lawmakers will take more measures to regulate and trace crypto. The recommendations came after a major ransomware attack with a month that demanded payments in digital currencies. As per Forbes, Senator Roy blunt commented on crypto and the anonymity they provide on NBC News. The two ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and meatpacker JBS sparked more gas shortages and meat plant shutdowns. Colonial paid the hackers about $4 million in BTC and it was not really clear whether JBS paid a ransom at the time of writing.

JBS reported that the attack originated from a criminal group based in Russia and the FBI believed that the group had ties with Russia called DarkSide and carried out the attack on Colonial Pipeline. Blunt also stated that the lawmakers should not allow cryptos to operate behind the scenes calling them a ransom payment of choice for the hackers. He failed to acknowledge that cash is the prime currency of choice for most criminals. Digital currencies with high anonymity properties are increased in popularity over the past few months for these types of intrusion.

Senator Mark Warner called for even more transparency if the company pays, referring to cyber attacks by a Russian hacker who unleashed a computer virus on 18,000 government and private networks across the world:

“What I’m really worried about is if we saw the kind of massive, across-the-system attack that took place last year, the SolarWinds attack. If that attack had been an effort to shut down our system, our economy would have come to a halt.”

As per a WSJ Report a week ago, the Biden Administration was examining the role of crypto that was played in both attacks and researched more ways to trace transactions via exchanges. Deputy National Security Advisor Anne Neuberger started coordinating with the international governments to determine when and how to trace the payments. Former Obama administration official Michael Daniel is now chief executive of the cyber Threat Alliance which is a non-profit intelligence-sharing group said:

“There are some responsibilities that come with being a responsible, mature currency in the world.”