AUSTRAC

Australian financial compliance enforcement agency AUSTRAC has released two new guides to help entities to spot when customers are using crypto for illicit means, or when they are being forced to pay the creators of ransomware. But it warned that debanking customers merely on suspicion of such activity was a harmful practice with serious negative effects. In an announcement posted earlier today, AUSTRAC noted that the growing acceptance, value and adoption of crypto and blockchain tech has been accompanied by an increase in cybercrime. “Cyber-enabled crime is an increasing threat to Australians. According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), 500 ransomware attacks were reported in the 2020-21 financial year, an increase of nearly 15 percent from the previous year,” AUSTRAC state...