thecoinrise.com
The United States Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has sanctioned persons, entities, and addresses associated with a ransomware group with ties to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
According to a report from the department announcing the sanctions, the individuals carried out coordinated ransomware attacks on schools, hospitals, transportation companies, and other American businesses.
The IRGC-affiliated group has reportedly been exploiting vulnerable networks. With the sanction in place, U.S persons and entities are prohibited from transacting with the sanctioned individuals or addresses. Also, all properties of the sanctioned individuals in the United States will be seized by the regulator.
These addresses are linked to three individuals named Mansour Ahmadi, Ahmad Khatibi, and Amir Hossein Nikaein.
Authorities Move to Protect Citizens from Cyberattacks
This sanction continues a series of actions by the regulator aimed at protecting U.S citizens from cyber crimes.
This news follows the sanction of crypto mixer Tornado Cash by the regulator over the laundering of $7 billion in August. A recent guideline from the regulator says accessing the open source code of Tornado Cash is not illegal, putting to bed arguments on the sanction as it affects free speech.
Recently, a 29-year-old Russian was repatriated to the U.S from the Netherlands to face trial over a ransomware attack that happened in 2020. After his initial hearing in the federal court for the District of Oregon, a five-day trial is scheduled to commence on October 4. The Russian hacker is likely to serve a 20-year sentence if found guilty.
Meanwhile, Alexey Pertsev, the developer of the Tornado Cash crypto mixing app is still in custody for aiding money laundering through Tornado Cash.
The U.S regulatory watchdogs have placed ransomware investigation on a similar priority to terrorism after an attack on a U.S pipeline company last year led to gas shortages.
According to a recent report by SonicWall, ransomware attacks in the cryptosphere were down about 23% with an attack volume of 236.1 million in the first half of the year. The dwindling price of bitcoin and increased attention from law enforcement agencies among other measures contributed to the decline.