US Justice Department unveils Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative to combat online crime

Amid rising cases of cyber fraud, the Biden administration on Wednesday announced a Civil Cyber Fraud initiative to counter cyber security breaches and the use of cryptocurrencies in accomplishing cyber fraud.

According to a statement released by the US Justice Department, the initiative will combine the department’s expertise in civil fraud enforcement, government procurement and cybersecurity to combat new and emerging cyber threats to sensitive information and critical systems.

"For too long, companies have chosen silence under the mistaken belief that it is less risky to hide a breach than to bring it forward and to report it," said US Justice Department Deputy Attorney Lisa O. Monaco.

"Well that changes today. We are announcing today that we will use our civil enforcement tools to pursue companies, those who are government contractors who receive federal funds, when they fail to follow required cybersecurity standards — because we know that puts all of us at risk," she added. 

Deputy Attorney Monaco informed that the tool would help government agencies to ensure the taxpayer's money would be invested in the public interest. While explaining the law, Monaco said that the Civil Cyber-Fraud Initiative would utilise the False Claims Act to pursue cybersecurity-related scams by management contractors and award recipients. She added that the False Claims Act is the government’s primary civil tool to redress false claims for federal funds and property involving government programs and operations.

'Initiative to hold accountable entities or individuals that put US systems at risk'

The US Justice Department statement said, "The Act includes a unique 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." 

The US Deputy Attorney General said that the initiative will hold accountable entities or individuals that put the country's information or systems at risk by knowingly providing deficient cybersecurity products or services, knowingly misrepresenting their cybersecurity practices or protocols, or knowingly violating obligations to monitor and report cybersecurity incidents and breaches. 

US to hold summit with 30 countries to confront cyber threats

Notably, the US Justice Department's announcement comes a week after United States’ top national security advisers unveiled a plan of holding a virtual summit with leading global executives and officials from at least 30 countries. According to the White House statement, the main agenda of the summit would be to discuss the growing threat of ransomware and other cybercrime posed by extortionist hackers.

The US President had earlier this year, also signed an executive order to modernise and improve the security of technological assets, including software security, information sharing, and federal networks. Last year, ransomware gangs hit more than 100 federal, state, and municipal agencies, upwards of 500 health care centres, 1,680 educational institutions, and thousands of businesses, according to cybersecurity firm Emsisoft. 

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