What IT Solutions Providers Need To Know About Bitcoins And Cryptocurrency

By Stu Sjouwerman, founder and CEO, KnowBe4

“This is our world now. The world of the electron and the switch; the beauty of the baud. We exist without nationality, skin color, or religious bias.” – Hackers, 1995

Bitcoins are a form of cryptocurrency, meaning they do not have a physical representation. Instead they are stored in an online exchange in anonymous wallets. They can be transferred anywhere in the world via the Internet. They can be paid from anywhere, to anywhere with total anonymity. The long and short of it is: They are the ideal form of payment for illicit activities and hackers. 

It could be argued that cryptocurrency is one of the enabling factors of ransomware. After all, if the hackers couldn’t accept payment safely, then the software would have no value. With the rise of Bitcoin has come a rise in ransomware.

Despite the above, using or owning Bitcoin is not an inherently criminal activity at all. Many respected companies accept Bitcoin and it is used the world over in non-criminal ways. However it is relatively new so the lack of information associated with it can scare people. Especially if their first encounter with Bitcoin is paying some hacker to unlock their files.

Please log in or register below to read the full article.