U.S. Treasury to loop in crypto sector on hacker warnings shared with traditional firms

The Department of the Treasury announced it's letting crypto firms sign up for timely information-sharing on cybersecurity threats.

What to know:

• U.S. authorities will start sharing timely cybersecurity information with crypto firms that sign up for the same service previously extended only to traditional financial institutions.
• The Treasury Department said the growing importance of the digital assets space warrants its inclusion in these protective measures.

The U.S. Department of the Treasury is opening its cybersecurity information sharing to crypto businesses to help them ward off attacks as the industry becomes an increasingly important arm of the financial system, according to a Thursday statement.

Eligible crypto firms and organizations — a status not yet clearly defined in the announcement — can sign on for the same service enjoyed by traditional financial institutions. The Treasury's Office of Cybersecurity and Critical Infrastructure Protection will include them on "timely, actionable cybersecurity information," and encouraged interested companies to reach out to that office if they're interested in the free service.

The move responds to an earlier recommendation from the President’s Working Group on Digital Asset Markets, which issued a report last year that included several information-sharing ideas on cyber-attack dangers.

"By extending access to the same high-quality cybersecurity information used by traditional financial institutions, Treasury is helping promote a more secure and responsible digital asset ecosystem," said Luke Pettit, assistant secretary for financial institutions, in a statement.

The digital assets sector has been plagued since its earliest days by malicious hacks. Hardly a month goes by without a noteworthy cyber assault draining significant funds or data from crypto operations. North Korean-linked hackers stole over $280 million from decentralized platform Drift last week. Just this week, recent incidents spurred the Solana Foundation to pursue new security measures to prevent exploits.

Billions of dollars in assets are stolen each year, often by hacker groups sponsored by nations such as North Korea. Digital security has remained one of the points of concern for U.S. lawmakers weighing legislation that would bring the crypto sector into the regulated financial system.

Read More: U.S. DOJ Pursues North Korea's Illicit Money Machine, Seizes More Crypto

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