Warning: Building Smarter Ransomware
Matthew Green and students speculate on what truly well-designed ransomware system could look like:
[...]
Most modern ransomware employs a cryptocurrency like Bitcoin to enable the payments that make the ransom possible. This is perhaps not the strongest argument for systems like Bitcoin -- and yet it seems unlikely that Bitcoin is going away anytime soon. If we can't solve the problem of Bitcoin, maybe it's possible to use Bitcoin to make "more reliable" ransomware.
Recall that in the final step of the ransom process, the ransomware operator must deliver a decryption key to the victim. This step is the most fraught for operators, since it requires them to manage keys and respond to queries on the Internet. Wouldn't it be better for operators if they could eliminate this step altogether?
[...]
At least in theory it might be possible to develop a DAO that's funded entirely by ransomware payments -- and in turn mindlessly contracts real human beings to develop better ransomware, deploy it against human targets, and...rinse repeat. It's unlikely that such a system would be stable in the long run humans are clever and good at destroying dumb things but it might get a good run.
One of the reasons society hasn't destroyed itself is that people with intelligence and skills tend to not be criminals for a living. If it ever became a viable career path, we're doomed.
Sources:
https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2017/02/28/the-future-of-ransomware/
Copying/Pasting full texts is frowned upon by the community.
Some tips to share content and add value:
Repeated copy/paste posts could be considered spam. Spam is discouraged by the community, and may result in action from the cheetah bot.
Creative Commons: If you are posting content under a Creative Commons license, please attribute and link according to the specific license. If you are posting content under CC0 or Public Domain please consider noting that at the end of your post.
If you are actually the original author, please do reply to let us know!
Thank You!
Hi! I am a robot. I just upvoted you! I found similar content that readers might be interested in:
https://blog.cryptographyengineering.com/2017/02/28/the-future-of-ransomware/
Congratulations @sso! You have completed some achievement on Steemit and have been rewarded with new badge(s) :
Click on any badge to view your own Board of Honor on SteemitBoard.
For more information about SteemitBoard, click here
If you no longer want to receive notifications, reply to this comment with the word
STOPCool! I follow you.
Congratulations @sso! You received a personal award!
You can view your badges on your Steem Board and compare to others on the Steem Ranking
Do not miss the last post from @steemitboard:
Vote for @Steemitboard as a witness to get one more award and increased upvotes!