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Comment by dheera | Hacker News Reader

Also, why is it so hard for them to track down ransomware perpetrators? Doesn't the NSA have back doors and gag orders to everything? Are the ransomware people really not using any Google/Microsoft products that can be used to track them down and banish them? Can we not hard fork Bitcoin to make ransomware wallets inactive?

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The problem with hacking, and call criminal activity really, used to be “getting your money out”.

Yea. You have money somewhere, but when you go to get it they’ll find you.

Crypto laundering has made that trivial now. So, no, I don’t believe the NSA has back doors in “everything”.

(Nor would I consider the NSA to be unequivocal “good guys” who selflessly help businesses and employees)

It's an interesting point: governments have invested untold billions [1,2.3] into internet surveillance of the entire population but these crypto teams elude them.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah_Data_Center

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Room_641A

[3] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM_(surveillance_program)

Because the surveillance is nothing but a tool for control and compliance. Solving crimes was never the point. It would not surprise me in the least if we found out in 50 years that these crypto groups were just another government team hoovering up data and getting more off the books funding.

> Also, why is it so hard for them to track down ransomware perpetrators? Doesn't the NSA have back doors and gag orders to everything?

The first thing being hard is evidence that the second thing is not true, and people just like saying it because they enjoy posting the most cynical take they can.

The NSA has actually lost some of its tools (Shadowbrokers) and backdoors (Juniper Networks)

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