<story><title>Ransomware gang threatens to expose police informants if ransom is not paid</title><url>https://therecord.media/ransomware-gang-threatens-to-expose-police-informants-if-ransom-is-not-paid/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>blululu</author><text>Please correct me on this but from what I can gather ransomware is a direct consequence of cryptocurrency. US Federal law enforcement has quite a lot of control over traditional banking and trying to extort the amount of money from a public agency would traditionally call for Federal Intervention. If so it seems like there is a good case to be made for a direct fine placed on the ledger used for payment in order to compensate for the damages.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>rfd4sgmk8u</author><text>&amp;quot;Blame the Money&amp;quot;.&lt;p&gt;No, money will always be used for crime as long as money and crime exists. People invent new crimes, People invent new money. Crime is the problem, not the money.&lt;p&gt;I would argue that money that can be used in this context is extremely valuable, as it is beyond the state.
This is a very awful situation, and I feel for the victims, but the existence of cryptocurrency is not the problem, any more than cryptography is the problem wrt ransomware.&lt;p&gt;Tech can be used in many forms. Use it properly. Find and bring those to justice that do not. Don&amp;#x27;t blame the tools.</text></comment>
<story><title>Ransomware gang threatens to expose police informants if ransom is not paid</title><url>https://therecord.media/ransomware-gang-threatens-to-expose-police-informants-if-ransom-is-not-paid/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>blululu</author><text>Please correct me on this but from what I can gather ransomware is a direct consequence of cryptocurrency. US Federal law enforcement has quite a lot of control over traditional banking and trying to extort the amount of money from a public agency would traditionally call for Federal Intervention. If so it seems like there is a good case to be made for a direct fine placed on the ledger used for payment in order to compensate for the damages.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>greggturkington</author><text>Prepaid cash services enabled ransomware before they were asking for cryptocurrency</text></comment>