U.S. lawmakers have considered the prospect of banning cryptocurrencies as a solution to the ransomware attacks that occurred in U.S. institutions in the past month, and opinions seem to be divided.
In early May, when hackers infected the computer network of the Colonial Pipeline, the largest fuel pipeline in the United States was disrupted. Food packaging company JBS has also been attacked similarly.Colonial pipeline since then Paid According to reports, the ransom was US$4.4 million.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner talked about it during NBC News Meet the media On June 6, journalist Chuck Todd told him that a total ban on cryptocurrencies can curb the growing trend of cyber attackers demanding bitcoin ransoms (Bitcoin) And other cryptocurrencies.
Warner disagrees that encryption should be completely banned, adding that distributed ledger technology has produced good things, but its dark side is now being exposed.
“I have a lot of questions about encryption. Distributed ledger technology has brought some benefits, but we now see some dark sides […] This is why I pay more attention to transparency,” he said.
Warner claimed that some cryptocurrency “systems” may have been destroyed by the authorities if the authorities wanted it. However, he said that stopping the technology would only redirect criminals to a different technology.
“In fact, we have a way to break through some of these systems, but […] If this payment does not have some transparency, the bad guys will find another way to hide it,” Warner said.
Republican Senator Roy Blunt (Roy Blunt) suggested that cryptocurrency should not be allowed to run behind the scenes of criminal activities, arguing that cryptocurrency has become the main tool for ransomware attackers due to its untraceable nature and ease of use.
“Our country has a lot of cash needs, but we haven’t figured out how to track cryptocurrency at home or in the world. So, one, it’s pretty easy to do. People almost always pay ransom. The consequences are few. And you can’t track ransomware. -Now choose the ransom payment. We must do better here,” Blunt said.
