US government now offers informants crypto rewards in addition to bank transfers and suitcases full of cash – Bitcoin News

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Attendees at the Black Hat hacker conference in Las Vegas discovered a new advertisement designed by the US State Department. According to people who accessed government advertising through an open Wi-Fi network called “#Rewardsnotransoms”, they discovered that the U.S. government offered to pay crypto rewards to people who give information about malicious hackers backed by the state.

US State Department Announces ‘Rewards for Justice’ at Black Hat 2021 in Las Vegas

The never-ending war on terrorism continues as the US government focuses on state-backed cybercriminals who have attacked US infrastructure or created terrorist organizations. Last week, reporters and attendees at the Las Vegas “Black Hat” hacker conference explained that the US government, especially the State Department, was advertising a new program called “Rewards for Justice. (RFJ) ”. CNN news outlet was the first to report the news after Black Hat attendees explained that they saw government advertising displayed on T-shirts and flyers in the form of a QR code.

The web portal built by the State Department offers up to $ 25 million to informants who provide information about state-sponsored cybercriminals. U.S. law enforcement officials believe informants will be drawn to crypto payments, and most bids are between $ 3 million and $ 10 million. A specific reward for Ayman al-Zawahiri, an Al Qaeda leader, is $ 25 million in digital currency.

“We’ve been working on it for quite some time and it coincided with a really good time that we managed to deploy it as critical infrastructure and ransomware was at the top of the news cycle, so to speak, and a major concern for the US government, ”an official from the diplomatic security service overseeing RFJ told CNN. Hackers can even access the RFJ web portal through the anonymous Tor web browser.

US Diplomatic Security Service official: “We actually deliver suitcases full of cash”

News of the US State Department paying informants with crypto assets to expose malicious hackers follows the recent discovery of “Antinalysis,” a “blockchain analysis tool that was launched on the dark web “. Additionally, the US government has offered to pay hackers to break the obfuscation offered by the Monero Network (XMR). Attracting hackers with crypto is nothing new, and the official told CNN that the government has been tipping this way for two years.

“It’s not a quick process. We receive tips. We value tips. We will share this advice with interagency partners. They must then use this information, reach out and start their investigation, ”said the official. “This is a longer-term process,” said the unknown source from the US diplomatic security service. Interestingly, the official revealed that in the past, before cryptocurrency rewards, suitcases full of cash were used to pay informants.

In addition to the newly introduced crypto rewards, the diplomatic security official said they are still using the old-fashioned payment methods. “We provide wire transfers, we can actually still deliver – and deliver – suitcases full of cash, we can provide in-kind rewards,” the official concluded. According to the US government, RFJ’s denunciations led to the conviction of Ramzi Ahmed Yousef.

What do you think of the US State Department offering crypto rewards to informants who give out information on nation-backed cybercriminals? Let us know what you think of this topic in the comments section below.

Tags in this story Ayman al-Zawahiri, Bitcoin, bitcoin rewards, Black Hat Conference, Black Hat Hackers, Crypto, crypto payments, crypto rewards, Diplomatic Security Service, Government rewards, Hackers, informants, IRS, Law enforcement, Monero , Official, Suitcases full of cash, US government, US State Department, US State Department, White Hat hackers

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