US Army seeks digital currency tracing tools for cybercrime probe

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The U.S. Army is looking to equip its cybercrime team with digital currency trading tools, in a move that would bolster the resources of its investigative division.

According to public records, the army published a Statement of Work earlier this month through its Criminal Investigation Command’s Major Cybercrime Unit, a preliminary step towards developing what would be a web-based solution for identifying criminality through digital currency.

The statement of work noted, “[t]he web based application must provide the capability to assist law enforcement identify and stop actors who are using cryptocurrencies for illicit activity such as fraud, extortion, and money laundering.”

As per the statement, the application must ultimately allow the unit to conduct investigations into the source of digital currency transactions, for greater analysis of the movements of digital currency.

“Application must enables[sic] users to conduct in-depth investigation into the source of cryptocurrency transactions and provides multi-currency analysis from [BTC] to other top cryptocurrencies.”

The statement sets out the units objectives, to develop a web-based app for supporting investigations into cybercrime that relies on digital currency to “spot transaction patterns and interactions with other entities.”

“Objectives: To acquire web based application solution that provides a capability to support investigations where there is a nexus to virtual currency. The solution needs to be cloud-based, to support USACIDC’s ability to quickly detect criminal and suspicious financial connections, identify suspicious cryptocurrency transactions, and investigate cryptocurrency connections.”

The app should also have “some type of visualization and/or link analysis tool to facilitate analysis of data.”

The move is the latest indication from the U.S. military that it intends to ramp up efforts around digital currency, after documents revealed the army was planning for scenarios in which digital currency could be used to redistribute stolen funds in the event of a future rebellion.

The SOW has a deadline of July 20 for submissions.