News linked to both this project and an event.
the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan has established a cryptocurrency investigation unit within its newly inaugurated National Command and Control Center (NC3) to probe money laundering and terrorist financing activities conducted through virtual currencies.Dr. Muhammad Athar Waheed, head of the FIA's Counter-Terrorism Department, stated that the new unit will investigate the criminal use of cryptocurrencies. The newly formed Pakistan Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (PVARA) will be responsible for overseeing digital assets. Dr. Waheed also urged the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency and the Anti-Narcotics Force to establish similar departments to address the use of cryptocurrencies in cybercrime and drug trafficking.The NC3 integrates the FIA's financial crime tools onto a single platform, including anti-money laundering and virtual currency investigation units, an Interpol coordination point, open-source intelligence, cyber patrolling, and dark web investigation departments. Pakistan previously lifted its eight-year ban on cryptocurrency banking, created the PVARA, and is advancing the licensing of cryptocurrency exchanges. (Decrypt)
According to PR Newswire, post-quantum cryptography (PQC) management platform QIZ Security announced the completion of a $17 million seed funding round, led by Bessemer Venture Partners and Merlin Ventures, with participation from Evolution Equity Partners, Qbeat Ventures, Singtel Innov8, and Qino Cyber Capital. The funding will be used to accelerate product development and market expansion. QIZ's core capabilities lie in providing enterprises with continuous crypto asset discovery, risk modeling, and remediation governance, helping organizations complete the migration to quantum-safe architecture before "Q-Day" (the point in time when quantum computers are expected to possess the capability to break existing encryption systems, anticipated around 2029) arrives. Currently, QIZ has established strategic partnerships with Cisco, AWS, Google, CrowdStrike, Deloitte, EY, and IBM, among others, with services covering the finance, telecommunications, healthcare, and critical infrastructure sectors. The company was co-founded by cybersecurity industry veterans Ben Volkow, Lenny Ridel, and former head of Deloitte's Global Quantum Cybersecurity team, Dr. Itan Barmes.