The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) has doubled the size of its team investigating cryptocurrency crimes, making the fight against ransomware an “urgent priority.”
In a speech at the Institute for Strategic and International Studies on Thursday, July 20, Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri said the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) would be merged into the Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Office (CCIPS). Announced.
Argentieri said the move would create a “single office that unites the criminal division’s expertise in all aspects of fighting cybercrime,” which would “take NCET to the next level.” Helpful and explained.
NCET was created in 2021 by Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco and is tasked with overseeing complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuse of cryptocurrencies.
In his speech, Argentieri described the task force as “the government’s premier group of crypto-savvy criminal lawyers with a deep understanding of the technological, business and legal aspects of cryptocurrencies.” said.
Within CCIPS, NCET will continue its work to investigate and prosecute criminal offenses related to cryptocurrency misuse. Argentieri said the merger would double the number of criminal defense attorneys available to handle cryptocurrency criminal cases, as any CCIPS attorney would be able to handle NCET cases.
Read: Cryptocurrency Crime Drops 62%, But Ransomware Activity Soars
He also noted that cryptocurrency-related work within the Justice Department’s Criminal Division now occupies a par with computer crime and intellectual property-related work.
In addition, Argentieri said the merger would “double the ability to track cryptocurrencies across the department,” including the ability to seize cryptocurrencies legally confiscated and return funds to victim organizations.
A notable example of this kind of effort was the seizure of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency paid out to the Darkside Ransomware gang following the attack on the Colonial Pipeline in 2021.
In another case, in April 2023, the Justice Department announced the seizure of six cryptocurrency wallets believed to be used to launder investment fraud proceeds.
The incorporation of NCET into CCIPS will help achieve the ambitions set out by President Joe Biden in the United States’ National Cybersecurity Strategy announced in March 2023. The strategy emphasized that ransomware is a threat to national security and one of the pillars of the national cybersecurity strategy. This strategy focuses on disrupting and eliminating threat actors.
Argentieri said the new “enhanced” CCIPS will be better equipped to stop and prosecute ransomware attackers.
“CCIPS, a new and powerful merged company with NCET, combines its expertise to meet this urgent need. CCIPS cybercrime experts investigate ransomware crimes, NCET cryptocurrency experts investigate ransomware payments We will vigorously pursue every available opportunity to track criminals through “pursuing cryptocurrency payments and freezing or seizing them before they are sent to Russia or other ransomware hotspots,” she said. commented.
In his speech, Mr. Argentieri said that Claudia Quiros, a long-time assistant federal prosecutor at the U.S. District Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California, will serve as acting director of NCET, while incumbent Choi Eun-young will become acting director of NCET. clarified. role.
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