Bitcoin as a Weapon Against Ransomware

Full article by Andrew Singer found here.

Key Points:

• Ransomware is the world’s largest cyber security threat today. Malicious software that infects and locks computers until a ransom is paid has made national headlines as attacks on critical infrastructure increase.

• While most people were focused on the immediate repercussions of the Colonial Pipeline attack in May, few were aware of the FBI using blockchain analysis to follow the trail of the ransom payments and recover 855 of the Bitcoin paid to the hacker group.

• The methods that the FBI used to trace the payment flow of the ransom is a key part of a transparent blockchain such Bitcoin and Ethereum. Some of crypto’s core components such as decentralization and transparency can be used against bad actors.

• Critics of Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies as a whole often emphasize the pseudonymous aspects of transactions and how it attracts criminal activity, but they often fail to mention the transparency and visibility of Bitcoin transactions. All transactions are available for anyone to see on various blockchain explorers, programs that log every transaction from address to address.