Crypto and International Security Task Force launched by RUSI

The Crypto and International Security Task Force will assess the threats associated with the illicit use of crypto, while also considering its legitimate applications and the policy consequences of different regulatory and enforcement responses. It will bring together senior Government officials, law enforcement and regulatory authorities, researchers and private sector experts.

There’s a pressing need for this work. Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) is accelerating malicious activity faster than it can be investigated, while nation-states are plugging into the illicit crypto supply chains originally built for cyber criminals and organised crime groups.

The dedicated Task Force will convene several meetings and focus on:

*threat assessment: mapping how illicit actors are exploiting crypto for organised crime, terrorist financing, sanctions evasion and political interference 

*response: examining the regulatory, law enforcement and industry tools available to counter illicit use

*protective and legitimate use cases: considering how crypto and blockchain analytics can support civil society or aid/humanitarian efforts

The Task Force will also hold a capstone conference to share its findings and recommendations with a wider audience of policymakers and practitioners. Alongside these meetings, it will convene a special session at RUSI’s SIFMANet Summit in London in December, duly focusing on the use of crypto in sanctions circumvention.

Findings from each meeting will feed into a final set of practical Task Force recommendations for policymakers and industry participants alike.

Clear way through complexity

Tom Keatinge (director of the Centre for Finance and Security at RUSI) observed: “As crypto becomes further embedded in the toolkit of criminal networks and hostile states, understanding both the risks and the legitimate uses has never been more urgent. This Task Force is designed to give policymakers a clearer way through that complexity.”

Jonathan Levin, co-founder and CEO of Chainalysis, responded: “As is the case with all technologies, cryptoassets can be used for good and bad. The good news is that cryptoassets are transparent. A more transparent financial system can be a safer one.”

Kinga Redlowska (head of the Centre for Finance and Security in Europe) noted: “When access to money is used as an instrument of repression, financial autonomy becomes a matter of security. Crypto can help people preserve resources and sustain independent communities when banks are closed to them. Protecting and expanding that potential will be one of the topics explored by this Task Force.” 

Kaitlin Martin (senior analyst for sanctions and national security intelligence at Chainalysis) concluded: “Adversaries fund, co-ordinate and manage their operations on-chain. Blockchain analysis is network analysis. Chainalysis collects deep intelligence on the financial infrastructure behind threat networks and their shared connections. We now look forward to partnering with RUSI in order to shine a light on this activity.”

*Further information is available online at www.rusi.org