Treasury debuts effort to share cyber threat intel with crypto firms
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The move signals that Treasury is increasingly treating cryptocurrency firms as part of the nation’s core financial infrastructure, making them a prime target for hackers.
The Treasury Department said Thursday it will begin sharing cyber threat intelligence with cryptocurrency firms following a string of incidents in which hackers siphoned off millions of dollars in customer funds.
The department’s Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection announced the effort to “provide timely, actionable cybersecurity information to eligible U.S. digital asset firms and industry organizations, helping them better identify, prevent, and respond to cyber threats targeting their customers and networks.”
Under the program, qualifying U.S. digital asset firms and industry groups that meet agency criteria will be able to access the same threat intelligence the department already distributes to traditional financial institutions at no cost.
The move signals Treasury is increasingly treating cryptocurrency firms as part of the nation’s core financial infrastructure, folding them into existing cyber threat-sharing channels as officials grow more concerned about the scale and sophistication of attacks targeting the sector.
“Cyber threats targeting digital asset platforms are growing in frequency and sophistication,” said Cory Wilson, deputy assistant secretary for cybersecurity at the Treasury Department. “This initiative expands access to actionable threat information that helps firms strengthen defenses, reduce risk, and respond more effectively to incidents.”
Cryptocurrency is becoming increasingly central to U.S. entities seeking to go after hackers, as such bad actors often seek to steal cryptocurrency or use it as a payment method to exchange stolen data.
North Korea has built a reputation for installing shadow workers in firms around the world to steal cryptocurrency and other financial assets to fund their regime, especially its missile program. Earlier this month, DPRK-aligned hackers stole some $285 million from Drift Protocol, a Solana-based decentralized derivatives exchange, in a breach that wiped out more than half of the platform’s total value in the system.