The US State Department has launched a new initiative to pay anonymous informants in cryptocurrency for information on enemy state-backed hackers or suspected terrorists, according to CNN.

The agency, for the first time, via its "Rewards for Justice" (RFJ) program, will be paying informants cryptocurrency on a secure portal on the Dark Web for information about enemy state-backed hackers involved in attacking US infrastructure or businesses and or terrorists who want to harm other American interests.

On RFJ's website, the State Department is offering "rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to the identification or location of any person who, while acting at the direction or under the control of a foreign government, participates in malicious cyber activities against US critical infrastructure." Informants who provide credible information will remain anonymous and elect to receive compensation in the form of crypto assets.