In Brief:
- William Burns, the Director of CIA, validates rumors saying the agency is working on crypto projects.
- These projects were initiated by his predecessor, says Burns
- The CIA aims to build knowledge on crypto to combat ransomware attacks.
The current director of The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) William Burns confirmed the rumors about the CIA’s involvement in combating ransomware, hence it is working on various crypto projects. Furthermore, he said his predecessor initiated several different projects focused on cryptocurrency.
He didn’t clarify which predecessor he was referring to, as there are five other people who have led the agency in the span of the last 5 years. These people include John Brennan, Mike Pompeo, and Gina Gospel.
The presumed reference is to his immediate predecessor David Cohen, who prez. Biden was picked as acting director from January to March of this year. He oversaw the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network and the Office of Foreign Assets Control. Both the departments have cautioned companies against facilitating ransomware payments. To put it another way, he’s exactly the sort of person who would get the CIA gathering intelligence on crypto.
During the Wall Street Journal’s Summit on Monday, William Burns mentioned that the agency was looking to add expertise in cryptocurrencies and blockchain in addition to taking suggestions from industry experts.
He also showed concerns regarding ransomware attacks, which could have a major impact on the United States. He added that building knowledge on cryptocurrencies was “an important priority” for the CIA. Thereby, the agency planned to devote “resources and attention” to it.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to shut down a computer or network until payment is received. Ransomware attacks are quite common when it comes to bitcoin and crypto.
This year itself many major firms have shut down due to these attacks. In October, US treasury reports showed over $5.2 billion lost to ransomware attacks. Consequently, McHenry introduced the bill to standardize ransomware and financial stability.
