New York-based cybersecurity startup Chainalysis has closed an agreement with Europol's European Cybercrime Centre on collaboration and information sharing to resist online crime and fraud.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Chainalysis and Europol will help fight bitcoin extortionists. The most recent incident happened this week in California where Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center was attacked by hackers and had to pay 40 bitcoins to get its systems restored.
Chainalysis identifies malicious agents by tracking their identities on blockchain. The team of developers is working on tools that will respect the customers' privacy and prevent abuse of the financial system. The startup has recently announced that it raised $1.6 mln in seed funding.
“Chainalysis brings a level of expertise that will be of significant benefit to our Europe-wide investigations. I look forward to developing a rewarding partnership that will make the people and businesses of Europe safer online,” said Steven Wilson, Head of Europol's European Cybercrime Centre.
Chainalysis commented on the new collaboration citing its experts’ broad experience in working with regulated entities and law enforcement agencies in the US, Asia, and Europe. In October 2015, the company became a winner at Barclays New York City fintech accelerator and signed a contract with the bank in order to develop blockchain projects for the banking industry.
Sonya Belova
