The qualities that make cryptocurrencies attractive—decentralisation and anonymity—make them great for theft, ransom and selling drugs
FILE — The J. Edgar Hoover building, the FBI’s headquarters in Washington, May 14, 2021. The FBI scored two major victories, recovering a Bitcoin ransom and tricking criminals into using an encryption app it controlled. But neither has fundamentally altered the challenges for the authorities in an increasingly digital world, experts say. (Stefani Reynolds/The New York Times).
Whether it was gangsters a century ago speeding off in faster getaway cars or terrorists and hackers in recent decades who shielded their communications through encrypted apps, criminals have perennially exploited technology to stay a step ahead of law enforcement.
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