MSBs and Ransomware: Staying Ahead of the Compliance Curve

A Q&A with Winston Krone of Kivu

Ransomware is on the rise, and so, too, is the chance of having to pay a ransom to recover critical data, yet this practice remains a gray area for regulatory compliance. One way that businesses can mitigate the potential of regulatory risk is to respond to cyber extortion attacks by using vendors who have registered as a money services business (MSB), which not only demonstrates compliance with the US Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) but also helps law enforcement find and prosecute criminals. Last year, Kivu registered as an MSB—and was reportedly the first full-service ransomware response vendor to do so. We spoke to Global Managing Director Winston Krone about how this decision benefits Kivu and how it could help other businesses to follow suit.