Australia to tighten liability for bitcoin extortionists

Hackers in Australia will face stiffer criminal penalties and penalties for attacks by cryptocurrency extortionists. This is what The Australian writes.

The initiative comes after a federal police operation to crack down on a record increase in ransomware attacks in 2020. The estimated damage to the economy was A$1.4 billion (~$1 billion).

Home Affairs Minister Karen Andrews said the new measures would aim to deter and punish cyber criminals

According to the publication, the measures will affect those who seek to attack critical infrastructure and use stolen data. The purchase and sale of malware, as well as simplified procedures for the seizure of funds received by extortionists, would fall into the contour of the legislation.

In June, US House of Representatives member Bill Foster said that encryption software could bury bitcoin's reputation in congressional consideration of its status.

Prior to that, US President Joe Biden instructed a study of cryptocurrency transaction tracking as an option to combat ransomware viruses.

Later, Massachusetts US Senator Elizabeth Warren said that digital assets had made it easier to commit crimes. She cited ransomware attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS as examples.

The media subsequently reported that investigations into such incidents in the US were given the same level of priority as terrorism cases.

In September, Senator Maggie Hassan sent a letter to a number of agencies expressing concern about the use of cryptocurrency as ransomware for ransomware.

In the same month, the media reported that Joe Biden's administration was preparing a series of measures to combat cryptocurrency payments to the hackers behind the attacks of such viruses.

As a reminder, by the end of October 2021, the Australian Senate Committee to Examine the Regulation of the Cryptocurrency Industry will voice regulatory recommendations.