CIA Director William Burns stated that the agency has many different cryptocurrency-focused projects going on.
According to the director in a report by the medium Vice.comThe Central Intelligence Agency of the United States of America, the CIA shows profound interest in cryptocurrencies. There is a long-standing conspiracy theory among a reduced number of crypto enthusiasts claiming that the anonymous inventor of Bitcoin, Satoshi Nakamoto, was the CIA or another agency.
CIA Director William Burns said Monday this week that the intelligence agency has several different cryptocurrency-focused projects on the go. Burns expressed his ideas at the end of a talk at the Wall Street Journal CEO Summit.
CIA and Cryptocurrencies
One attendee asked if the agency is currently into cryptocurrencies. This question arrived because the crypto world is at the core of a ransomware epidemic that American officials try to control and kill.
Burns replied that this awareness of cryptocurrencies is something inherited. His predecessor made the first step but had also started several different projects focused on cryptocurrency to see second and third-order consequences and help colleagues in other parts of the world.
The answer has to do with something that has become a problem: ransomware has attacked various parts of the government and also the private sector in the US. In May of this year, a ransomware attack aimed at a gas pipeline company, Colonial Pipeline, caused a shutdown, panic buying, and gas shortages in several states.
The representative said cryptocurrencies could play a role in all the events that lead to ransomware attacks. This theory arrives because one of the ways to reach ransomware attacks and deter them is to access the financial networks that many of those criminal networks use.
Among the groups with the highest amount of capital raised is REvil, a group of hackers from Russia, which has received a third of the Bitcoin captured under this modality so far this year, since it has received up to USD 11.3 million in digital currency by victims.
Some analysts point out that the group could consolidate its position in the first place if the attack perpetrated against more than 200 American companies finally results in the payment of the requested USD 70 million.
The Mail / Netwalker group also goes in the same vein. This year it capitalized about USD 5.7 million in Bitcoin after the payment of the ransoms in question. On the other hand, this group of cybercriminals has received at least USD 27.9 million throughout their trajectory.
Cyberattacks Have Increased More than 200% Since 2020
Attacks perpetrated by hackers in which payments with Bitcoin have increased more than 200% since 2020, especially in light of the rebound registered by the first cryptocurrencies during the last quarter of the said year.
Among the theses handled in this regard, they highlight that these assets are becoming especially attractive to hackers and criminals precisely because of their rapid revaluation, their properties around the anonymity of operations, and the possibility of making cross-border payments without obstacles.
By: Jenson Nuñez
