For me "Terrorism is, in the broadest sense, the use of intentional violence to achieve political aims", there is no political aims here, their goal is to extort as much money as they can from their victims. This is a criminal activity and any small or big companies that pay for it are feeding the monster and should be persecuted. But the US has been ignoring it for years and now it comes right back to them.
U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
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Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#52Finally we going to get security research paid properly and companies punished for not fixing their zero-day-sponges. Oh, its just another monstrous deterrence Three letter agency.
But yeah, in a game-theory sense, its the cheapest option, to have a nuclear counter strike, instead of building all cities like underground bunkers. Security, by strike team. That would actually work, if all countries agreed on that.
Or the internet is expected to break into allegiance-sized parts. The server only connects to country, who will extradite cyber-criminals and adhere to this connection contract.
It was a nice dream, while it lasted.
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#53What’s next? Using anti-terror laws for copyright enforcement?
Ransomware is actually a legitimate threat to the well-being and health of all people. They lock down government and health records. It a huge risk to the American people
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#54What’s next? Using anti-terror laws for copyright enforcement?
do you live under a rock? have you missed the ransom ware attacks on critical infrastructure....
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#55Curious 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.
I'm sure the Russians are as interested in these crooks as the Americans, as it would be attractive to seize their assets. They will not extradite them, but they might wish they had been.
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#56that's a pretty big joke
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#57Earlier 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.
Cash is a solution to the problem of portable assets. Bitcoin is a problem in search of a solution.
> Cash is a solution to the problem of portable assets.
Barely. The portability usually ends at country borders.
> Bitcoin is a problem in search of a solution.
Don't you mean "a solution in search of a problem?" Nice Freudian slip, though :)
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
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?
AML, SDN lists - yes, all that is in scope. But enforcement has been uneven: it’s so far been about making US exchanges comply with KYC laws. Nobody has really gone further.
What happens when a company is a victim of a ransomware attack and OFAC puts the extortion wallet on an exclusion list?
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#59Earlier 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.
...when they're throwing people in prison for it.
I thought I smelled authoritarianism! Here we see the ultimate purpose of this entire desultory exercise. Having problems online? No backups? Don't fix your pathetic shit; just be the excuse for the USA military-enforcement-imprisonment-industrial complex to oppress everyone on earth. Good grief.
Re: U.S. to give ransomware hacks similar priority as terrorism, official says
#60Earlier quoted context omitted.
> 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?
AML, SDN lists - yes, all that is in scope. But enforcement has been uneven: it’s so far been about making US exchanges comply with KYC laws. Nobody has really gone further. What happens when a company is a victim of a ransomware attack and OFAC puts the extortion wallet on an exclusion list?
> What happens when a company is a victim of a ransomware attack and OFAC puts a wallet on an exclusion list?
That wallets gets tainted? Its coins become less valuable? Marked wallets have been an obvious thing coming down the pipes.