Eric Geller

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Ugoretz: "Sometimes foreign exchanges want to be cooperative...but because they don't have that existing framework that provides consistency in the types of information that they're collecting about their customers, they may not even have the information on hand to provide..." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

During panel at Munich Cybersecurity Conference, FBI Cyber Division's Tonya Ugoretz says "international standardization" of AML rules for cryptocurrency "would greatly help" stop ransomware. Many countries don't have consistent rules, so even well-meaning exchanges can't help. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

On Ukraine tensions, Monaco says she's "absolutely concerned" about spillover in cyberspace to U.S. targets. She notes that it's happened before, with NotPetya. She adds that "companies of any size and of all sizes would be foolish not to be preparing right now." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Asked what DOJ learned from its SolarWinds-related breach, Monaco says “We've got to be taking on exactly the same focus that we ask others to do and make it a C-suite–level issue.” She says DOJ developed a cyber incident response playbook and will be testing and revising it. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

This change could be a response to criticism of the FBI for keeping the REvil ransomware decryptor secret in order to keep investigating the group. https://t.co/9JReKqa2do Sharing the decryptor with Kaseya sooner might have mitigated the spread of that co's supply chain attack. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Drawing a parallel between terrorism and cybercrime cases, Monaco says that a top priority must be making victims whole. Thus, "we will assess whether there are steps we can take to prevent or reduce the risk to victims" even if they jeopardize prosecutions. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

From now on, Monaco says, "prosecutors, agents and analysts" will have to constantly assess "whether to use disruptive actions against cyber threats, even if they might otherwise tip the cyber criminals off and jeopardize the potential for charges and arrests." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

The Biden administration will also use the DOJ's international initiative to encourage other countries to improve their cryptocurrency regulations to crack down on rogue exchanges that facilitate ransomware payments. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

DOJ is launching an "International Virtual Currency Initiative" that will facilitate more "joint international law enforcement operations" and "more eyes from multiple law enforcement agencies around the world to track money through the blockchain," Monaco says. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

DOJ is also creating a "cyber operations international liaison" position to help "up the tempo of international operations against top-tier cyber actors," Monaco says. This person will work from Europe "to ensure more connectivity between our law enforcement groups.” — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Monaco says prosecutors handling "significant cyber investigations" now have to consult with DOJ's international and cybercrime experts "to identify international actions that might be able to help stop a threat." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

DOJ's National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team now has a dozen prosecutors, Monaco says. And former AUSA Eun Young Choi, a senior counsel to Monaco, will be the team's first director. Choi oversaw the JPMorgan hack case. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Monaco: “The FBI is forming a specialized team dedicated to cryptocurrency, the Virtual Asset Exploitation Unit." The team brings together cryptocurrency experts to "provide equipment, blockchain analysis, virtual asset seizure, and training to the rest of the FBI." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Deputy AG Lisa Monaco is speaking now at the Munich Cybersecurity Conference. “We're adapting old tools to use in new ways," she says, "while also designing novel techniques to use in our major cyber investigations.” — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Schectman and Bing continue their great work of putting human faces on the controversial global spyware industry. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

It's unusual to see a senior official use a keynote almost entirely as a recruitment ad. But given the audience for this conference, it was probably a smart move. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

It's unusual to see a senior official use a keynote almost entirely as a recruitment ad. But given the audience for this keynote, it was probably a smart move. — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

@davidmackau https://t.co/HFfhN1tJvj — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

@HowellONeill @martinmatishak I can think of an even bigger upgrade https://t.co/agButJ096B — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

@heathadelphia I love him — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

As for the disinformation text messages, Meyers told me that attributing them will likely require assistance from telecom operators who can trace "how they got onto the network" and from where. But he said "spoofing text messages is also fairly trivial these days." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Jen Psaki noted during today's WH briefing that "cyber attribution takes time" and DDoS attacks can be hard to trace. Yep. @Adam_Cyber told me yesterday that these attacks came from open proxies in Asia & Africa, some of which had been advertised on the dark web for weeks. https://t.co/tWzl1yFJWA — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Jen Psaki noted during today's WH briefing that "cyber attribution takes time" and DDoS attacks can be hard to trace. Yep. @Adam_Cyber told me yesterday that these attacks came from open proxies in Asia & Africa, some of which had been advertised on the dark web for weeks. https://t.co/OCh0bZaj8n — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

hell yes — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

"Their main purpose is to sow panic among Ukrainians and destabilize the situation in the country," the statement says, citing comments by Deputy PM Mykhailo Fedorov. "In fact, it was a large-scale stress test that Ukraine withstood." — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Ukraine's cyber agency shares another update with comments from senior government officials. The DDoS attacks targeted not just banks and government sites but also the power grid and Ukraine's digital ID portal. https://t.co/fuqc6x4v5X — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

New from CISA/FBI/NSA: An advisory about how Russian hackers have targeted defense contractors and stolen "sensitive, unclassified information, as well as [contractor]-proprietary and export-controlled technology." https://t.co/gGOZueVigi — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

The latest update from the Ukrainian defense ministry includes a bit of new information ("direct[ing] all site traffic through an additional security service located in the United States") and a delightful example of the language barrier. https://t.co/lyeFvE26qK https://t.co/c9pjPyMFqC — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

whoops, forgot to thread this one, but the question remains, is this protecting and serving? — PolitiTweet.org

Eric Geller @ericgeller

Is this protecting and serving? https://t.co/2xXi1vQhiS — PolitiTweet.org