The initiative will combine the Justice Department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats to the security of sensitive information and critical systems.
Reuters reported that Deputy Attorney of the Justice Department, Lisa Monaco, gave a virtual speech at the Aspen Cyber Summit, about the new initiative. It includes a mix of anti-money laundering and cybersecurity experts. In addition, the initiative will focus on cryptocurrency.
“Cryptocurrency exchanges want to be the banks of the future, well we need to make sure that folks can have confidence when they’re using these systems and we need to be poised to root out abuse,” Monaco said. “The point is to protect consumers.”
According to Reuters, Deputy Attorney of the Justice Department, Lisa Monaco, also announced the use of a cyber fraud initiative, which will “use civil enforcement tools to pursue companies, those who are government contractors, who receive federal funds, when they fail to follow recommended cybersecurity standards.”
Personally, I think the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative could be a good thing. It sounds like it will enact enforcement against companies that are aware a breach occurred – but don’t tell their customers about it. Cryptocurrency is relatively new, and should have some regulation attached to in order to prevent fraud.
Some things the Cyber-Fraud Initiative includes:
- Use of False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity related fraud by government contractors and grant recipients.
- A False Claims Act is the government’s primary civil tool to redress false claims for federal funds and property involving government programs and operations.
- A whistleblower provision, which allows private parties to assist the government in identifying and pursuing fraudulent conduct and to share in any recovery and protects whistleblowers who bring these violations and failures from retaliation.