FBI Creates New Unit Centered on Blockchain Analysis and Cryptocurrency

On Thursday, the U.S. Justice Department Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco announced that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will be launching its own “virtual asset exploitation” unit dubbed as the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET). The new unit was specifically created to conduct blockchain analysis and virtual asset seizure.

This move comes after the Justice Department’s largest financial seizure occurred earlier this month involving a married couple from New York who allegedly laundered bitcoins stolen from the 2016 Bitfinex hack. The announcement was made during the Munich Cyber Security Conference.

“I think we are sending a message that cryptocurrencies and virtual currencies should not be considered a safe haven,” explained Monaco. “We are issuing a clear warning to criminals who use cryptocurrency to fuel their schemes. We also call on all companies dealing with cryptocurrency – we need you to root out cryptocurrency abuses. To those who do not, we will hold you accountable where we can.”

Regulators in the U.S. have been keeping tabs on the growing crypto industry following last year’s series of high-profile cyberattacks where ransomware groups demanded their fees in bitcoin. The NCET will be headed by Eun Young Choi — an experienced cybercrime coordinator, assistant U.S. attorney in New York, and Monaco’s senior counsel.

“The NCET will enhance the Criminal Division’s existing efforts to provide support and training to federal, state, local and international law enforcement to build capacity to aggressively investigate and prosecute serious crimes involving cryptocurrency and digital assets in the United States and around the world,” according to the press release.

“Cryptocurrency exchanges want to be the banks of the future. Well, we need to make sure that folks can have confidence when they’re using these systems and we need to be poised to root out abuse,” affirmed Monaco. She likewise noted the aggressiveness of the department in terms of disrupting cyber threats.

“Moving forward, prosecutors, agents, and analysts will now assess – at each stage of a cyber investigation – whether to use disruptive actions against cyber threats, even if they might otherwise tip the cybercriminals off and jeopardize the potential for charges and apprehension.”

Sources: Reuters, CoinDesk