Experts: Congress should focus on national security threat of Chinese, Russian payment apps

Congress has been urged by experts to prioritize addressing the national security risks presented by Russian and Chinese payment apps rather than being fixated on cryptocurrency risks alone, according to CyberScoop. Threat actors have been leveraging Russia-based Qiwi and China-based Alipay to facilitate illicit activity, including the purchasing of Facebook ads as part of influence operations during the 2016 presidential election, said Wilson Center Global Fellow Scott Dueweke before the House Financial Services subcommittee on National Security, International Development, and Monetary Policy. Moreover, investigating alternative payment apps is much more challenging than looking into illicit cryptocurrency use, according to Chainalysis co-founder and Chief Strategy Officer Jonathan Levin, who called on the U.S. to leverage technologies that would more proactively track financial crimes. TRM Labs Head of Legal and Government Affairs Ari Redbond noted that bolstering law enforcement training and blockchain investigation tools could help the U.S. better prepare for alternative payment app-related threats. "The reality is we've never had more visibility on financial flows," Redbond added.