The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence recently published its guidelines to help US entities fight against ransomware attacks. Two guidelines were issued in this regard. One came from the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) and the other from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).
It is crucial to identify and report ransomware payments in order to stop cyber criminals from using malicious software for extortion and other illegal activities. FinCEN’s Advisory on Ransomware and the Use of the Financial System to Facilitate Ransom Payments helps identify ransomware-related red flags.
FinCEN’s guidelines also describe how to report and share data from ransomware attacks. Meanwhile, OFAC’s Advisory on Potential Sanctions Risks for Facilitating Ransomware Payments highlights the penalties for enabling ransomware transactions.