AUSTRAC drafts financial services to help crackdown on ransomware

The federal government has bolstered its monitoring of cyber crimes targeting businesses with ransomware and criminal use of digital currencies.

As a pre-emptive measure, AUSTRAC released two new guides on Thursday containing practical information and indicators to help businesses identify and report criminal activity.

But in an effort to take vulnerable Australians off the hook, AUSTRAC has relayed the responsibility on to financial services providers.

The government’s financial intelligence agency said financial services plays “crucial role” in protecting Australians against both ransomware and the criminal use of digital currencies, noting that they must understand the financial indicators of these crime types and report suspicious financial activity to AUSTRAC.

“Financial service providers need to be alert to the signs of criminal use of digital currencies, including their use in ransomware attacks,” said AUSTRAC CEO Nicole Rose.

The first guide, titled ‘Detecting and stopping ransomware financial crime’, instructs financial services businesses to use a combination of indicators and business knowledge to monitor and identify potential suspicious activity.

“Where suspicious activity is identified, enhanced customer due diligence should be conducted in accordance with the business’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism financing (AML/CTF) program,” the guide reads.

“The intelligence and information shared by financial services businesses is critical in helping AUSTRAC and government partners protect the community and Australia’s financial system from criminals.”

The second guide, ‘Preventing the criminal abuse of digital currencies financial crime’, offers instructions to financial services providers looking to review their profiling and transaction monitoring programs.

“Financial service providers should use the indicators in this guide and their own business knowledge to conduct further monitoring and identify if a suspicious matter report needs to be submitted to AUSTRAC,” the guide sets out.

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC), 500 ransomware attacks were reported in the 2020-21 financial year, an increase of nearly 15 per cent from the previous year.

On the digital currency front, as the market continues to grow globally, criminals are increasingly using digital currencies to commit a range of serious crimes.

”The use of digital currencies for criminal purposes has no place in our sector,” said Blockchain Australia CEO Steve Vallas.

“Open dialogue, proactive guidance and strong relationships between government and industry are necessary to ensure businesses can identify and report behaviour that puts Australians at risk of harm.”

The ransomware guide can be accessed here, while the digital currencies guide can be found here.