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U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

reuters.com

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Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#31

Post by ocdtrekkie »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #19
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #2

Whelp, that's the end of cryptocurrency... probably should sell your HODLings now. If we're going to Patriot Act the crud out of ransomware, Bitcoin is gonna be illegal.

> If we're going to Patriot Act the crud out of ransomware, Bitcoin is gonna be illegal Terrorist financing is illegal. Cash is not.

The majority of the uses of cash are legal. The majority of uses of Bitcoin are criminal. And bear in mind, Bitcoin hasn't just been a boon to ransomware, it's been a strategy to evade financial sanctions by countries like Iran: https://www.reuters.com/technology/iran-uses-crypto-mining-l...

So there's a lot of reasons the US government just may find themselves happier without it.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#32

Post by NationalPark »

TameAntelope wrote: post #21
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #2

Whelp, that's the end of cryptocurrency... probably should sell your HODLings now. If we're going to Patriot Act the crud out of ransomware, Bitcoin is gonna be illegal.

How much success, historically, has the US government had at regulating math? I can't think of any, but it's not really my specialty so I'm curious if anyone's encountered a successful example.

Quite a lot? The SEC and ITAR both come to mind.

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#36

Post by ocdtrekkie »

chongli wrote: post #25

What about the other side of this? Instead of seeking backdoors and using them to spy on Americans, the NSA should be stepping up their game and securing vital infrastructure and domestic businesses against these attacks.

Generally speaking, you'll find the federal government has a litany of agencies, on both the offensive and defensive side of... everything. There are absolutely government resources working on securing American infrastructure.

And shifting from one to the other appears to be happening, to some degree: https://breakingdefense.com/2021/06/dod-budget-appears-to-cu...

Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says

#39

Post by labster »

JumpCrisscross wrote: post #19
ocdtrekkie wrote: post #2

Whelp, that's the end of cryptocurrency... probably should sell your HODLings now. If we're going to Patriot Act the crud out of ransomware, Bitcoin is gonna be illegal.

> If we're going to Patriot Act the crud out of ransomware, Bitcoin is gonna be illegal Terrorist financing is illegal. Cash is not.

Cash is a solution to the problem of portable assets. Bitcoin is a problem in search of a solution.
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