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- The US Treasury today announced sanctions against 10 individuals and two entities for alleged ransomware attacks.
- The bitcoin addresses of suspects allegedly linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were also blacklisted.
United States Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) today continuing ban against 10 people and two companies linked to a ransomware group linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) – and blocked them Bitcoin purse Addresses too.
According to the department, individuals and entities added to the government’s sanctions list participated in coordinated ransomware attacks that have targeted an array of United States-based companies and organizations since at least 2020.
ransomware It is a type of attack in which hackers take advantage of software flaws to remotely lock down a computer or network, and then demand payment to unlock access. Typically, these payments are made in cryptocurrency, which, despite the transparency, can be more difficult to track than other digital payment methods. blockchainnetwork like Bitcoin,
Treasury officials allege that the Iranian group’s US targets included a children’s hospital, a city in New Jersey, a rural electric utility company and a range of other businesses. The individuals have been identified as employees or associates of Naji Technology Hushmand Fator LLC and Afkar Systems Yazd Company.
By placing the alleged attackers and their business entities on the OFAC sanctions list, US citizens and companies are now prohibited from interacting with them. This includes bitcoin wallet addresses that are listed with the names of their alleged owners,
Beyond the OFAC sanctions, the Treasury also said that three individuals—Mansoor Ahmadi, Ahmed Khatibi Aghada, and Amir Hussein Nikeen Ravari—have been charged by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey in connection with the ransomware attack. The state of New Jersey is awarding up to $10 million for information related to those individuals.
Today’s moves follow a recent Treasury decision add whirlwind cash-One Ethereum Coin mixing tool designed to obscure the movement of crypto funds on the sanctions list in August.
The Treasury alleges that Tornado Cash has been used primarily to launder money, including stolen crypto funds. Although, like other decentralized appsTornado Cache runs autonomously through a program smart contractand is not operated by people or any company.
The decision has been particularly divisive, resulting in criticism from not only the crypto world, but Question from US Representative Tom Emmer, Amid Pushback, Treasury This Week explained his position on using Tornado Cache, and noted that those who were Money sent via Tornado Cash without their consent (or “dust”) shall not be punished.