IRS is Developing 'Exploitation Techniques' to Break Into Crypto Wallets

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• Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is now targeting cryptocurrency users through the “development of exploitation techniques against Cryptowallets.”

[/beg-green-box-list] According to its March report, the emergence and rapid adoption of cryptographic currencies have created a gap in digital forensic capabilities, and the decentralization and anonymity provided by cryptos are fostering an environment for the storage and exchange of value outside of the traditional purview of law enforcement and regulatory organizations. The focus of IRS is crypto wallets, for which its Digital Forensics Unit provides forensic support for task forces agents, computer investigative specialists, and cyber investigators. With the process of decrypting the hardware devices to gain access to the wallets being challenging, it says, “further forensic research is needed to mature the process and obtain reliable results.” The proposal's objective is to validate cybersecurity research in cryptographic wallets exploitation, identify new methods to gain access to these wallets, and create hands-on training for the identified techniques in supporting the digital forensic laboratory.