Thirty-two governments issued a joint decision to combat ransomware payment channels.
Senior officials from 31 governments and the European Union, said they would take steps to disrupt illegal cryptocurrency payment channels used by ransomware gangs to finance their activities.
The joint statement was issued following the White House National Security Council's Countering Software Initiative teleconferences this week in response to ongoing attacks that have exposed significant vulnerabilities points in critical global infrastructure.
The announcement was issued by the ministers and representatives of Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, the European Union, France, Germany, the Indias, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Lithuania, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.
Now, because the communication has the European Union as a member and refers separately to its member states, such as France, Germany, etc., this is an unknown issue that only the White House is aware of.
However, in the announcement, the above finds that ransomware payments that have been made public in the last two years, have reached almost $ 500 million in cryptocurrency worldwide ($ 400 million in 2020 and over $ 80 million in the first quarter of 2021).
They believe that mitigating the misuse of virtual assets on a global scale will affect the business model and the main tool ransomware groups use for cybercrime to collect ransom from their victims and launder the proceeds.
The Counter-Ransomware Initiative hopes to deplete their funding and shut down their activities, disrupting the funding channels of ransomware groups.
Efforts to prevent the misuse of cryptocurrencies by ransomware groups will include regulators, financial intelligence units, and law enforcement agencies that regulate, monitor, investigate, and take action against the exploitation of fictitious assets.
They will also look for ways cooperations with the virtual asset industry, to enhance the exchange of information related to ransomware.
The states behind this action will use their financial institutions and infrastructure to jointly prevent ransomware activity targeting the critical infrastructure of international partners.
Additional efforts will also include, through police cooperation, improving the network for attack prevention, searching ransomware crime shelters, and encouraging other countries to take action against ransomware groups in their territory.
