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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

#41

Post by owenmarshall »

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.

Sure. But running an exchange where USD goes to terrorists - or, indeed, where you can’t show that USD does not go to terrorists - is highly illegal.

If ransomware gangs are directly or indirectly targeted by OFAC, that would have massive ramifications.

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

#42

Post by WrtCdEvrydy »

chitowneats wrote: post #13
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, opening it up and seeing 30%+ gains in a day does give me a sort of high.

You won't be seeing 30%+ gains when they're throwing people in prison for it. Most drug users are never prosecuted. But the threat of prosecution does very little to affect the quality of their purchase, relative to what it would do to BTC market as a whole.

Yeah, illegal things definitely don't end being sold above market price.

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

#43

Post by LegitShady »

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.

I agree, but I also don't mind the idea of drone striking ransomware guys...

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

#44

Post by handrous »

ocdtrekkie wrote: post #10
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #4

Curious if this will result in extraterritorial enforcement. For example, it's clear Moscow is either unwilling or unable to prosecute cyber criminals within its border.

That's one possible reading. Another is that the US will start working on their own Great Firewall, such that your packets need to be cleared by a metaphorical digital TSA to enter the country.

Something like SCION may be in the "Western" Internet's future, is my guess. I don't expect protection-at-edge or pervasive atop-the-current-Internet surveillance to be the solution for the OECD.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SCION_(Internet_architecture)

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

#45

Post by axlee »

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.

I'd rather not see taxpayers have to foot the bill for the profit of megacorps neglecting proper cybersecurity while sitting on mountains of tax-evaded offshore cash, thank you. The industry should be magnitudes larger than it is currently, and we shouldn't encourage corporate recklessness by socializing the costs.

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

#46

Post by ocdtrekkie »

reader_mode wrote: post #29
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's what happened with drugs. The price of drugs actually dropped to zero and it's now impossible to get LSD.

Difference is if corporations and funds can't hold bitcoin/crypto - you're back to $1/BTC. The whole value proposition of BTC hype bubble bursts if it's illegal in a major market like USA. Don't doubt some cyberpunk nuts will keep playing with it.

And presumably if nobody can easily convert large quantities of crypto to and from USD. Sure, you find an international exchange, willing to give you some other fiat, but American KYC laws are still going to be chasing you all over the globe.

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

#47

Post by stonepresto »

chickenpotpie wrote: post #40

I really hope this copies the principal of not negotiating with terrorists. Everytime we pay out ransomware it just encourages more ransomware.

The downward trend in bug bounty payouts and frustration from researchers might also sweeten that deal for more experienced persons.

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

#48

Post by JumpCrisscross »

owenmarshall wrote: post #41
JumpCrisscross wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Sure. But running an exchange where USD goes to terrorists - or, indeed, where you can’t show that USD does not go to terrorists - is highly illegal. If ransomware gangs are directly or indirectly targeted by OFAC, that would have massive ramifications.

> running an exchange where USD goes to terrorists - or, indeed, where you can’t show that USD does not go to terrorists - is highly illegal

Doesn't existing anti-terrorist financing (ATF) law cover this?

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

#49

Post by dan-robertson »

MattGaiser wrote: post #17
WrtCdEvrydy wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, that's what happened with drugs. The price of drugs actually dropped to zero and it's now impossible to get LSD.

You generally can't exchange cash for Bitcoin all that easily. You need some part of the fiat electronic banking system to get from cash to Bitcoin.

I think if you’re a criminal with a lot of Bitcoins you can do it. One way is through exchange insiders taking a bunch of your balance and giving you a bag of cash (but you sell your coins to them at a discount of course.) See eg https://cybernews.com/security/how-we-applied-to-work-with-r...

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

#50

Post by cpncrunch »

axlee wrote: post #45
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.

I'd rather not see taxpayers have to foot the bill for the profit of megacorps neglecting proper cybersecurity while sitting on mountains of tax-evaded offshore cash, thank you. The industry should be magnitudes larger than it is currently, and we shouldn't encourage corporate recklessness by socializing the costs.

The ones sitting on that cash (MS, Apple, Google) arent at risk.
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