
Security Researcher Goes Missing After Investigating Bangladesh Bank Cyber-Heist - softnewsit
http://news.softpedia.com/news/security-researcher-goes-missing-after-investigating-bangladesh-bank-cyber-heist-501905.shtml
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kyledrake
This is a strong (and worrying) example of the emergence of an increasingly
cyberpunk flavor to criminal activity, a trend that I expect to see increase
in the future.

When I say "digital currency", most people think of things like Bitcoin, but
actually most currencies in use today are digital, represented mostly in
databases managed by the banks. I don't have the numbers, but less (possibly
way less) than 10% is in physical circulation, and many people are surprised
to learn the current estimate is that 2/3rds of the US Dollar is in
circulation outside of the US.

We're far away from the days of The Great Riviera Bank Robbery. Modern bank
heists (outside of the usual "crazy guy with a gun robs regional bank" crap)
will be principally hackers, either brute forcing or socially engineering
their way through the security systems that prevent them from moving our
modernized digital money anywhere they want.

Invest in security, invest in cryptography (and learn how to use it). And I
suppose, ponder the idea that what you participate in online can follow you
offline too.

~~~
samstave
Agreed, however, I, for one, want to see an increase in cyber crime. I want
digital banks to be robbed. I won't explain it now, but I want the robbing
rate to increase at the same rate as wealth concentration does, call it the
Robin Hood Effect.

~~~
refurb
That makes sense. When a gov't is ripped off of tax money or your grandma's
pension fund loses money to a criminal organization it's a great way to
redistribute wealth to the poor.

~~~
droithomme
Is it?

~~~
nbclark
Sarcasm I assume...

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jrumbut
It's interesting that whoever abducted him was willing to leave the friend.
Among a corrupt government and an operation able to steal tens of millions of
dollars, you would expect either to be ruthless in their cover up, if that's
what this is.

It's too bad that we have become so complacent about the decreasing value of
human life around the world. We need to collectively stand up and say that
actions (and inactions) like this are unacceptable and worth interrupting
business as usual.

~~~
yarou
It's not that we value human life less as a society in the West (if anything,
we value it more). It's just that our political leaders think they can act
with impunity.

That's why we need forceful action to disrupt the corrupt officials that have
hegemony over our lives today.

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.

~~~
benmmurphy
The west definitely has a more stable political culture. If you were voted out
of office but ordered the military to seize power you would be laughed at. But
in other countries this may actually be taken seriously. But its just a matter
of everyone's expectations. If everyone expects corrupt practices will be
tolerated then you will quickly slip into the corrupt culture.

~~~
yarou
Trump is effectively inciting violent action among his supporters. And he's
not even elected yet. I shudder to think what will happen to the rule of law
in the United States.

~~~
meric
On one hand, you quote:

>> The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants.

On the other, you say:

>> Trump is effectively inciting violent action among his supporters. And he's
not even elected yet.

As if you _wouldn 't_ want the tree of liberty to be refreshed.

We can have Trump, who may destroy the economy of America, or we can have
Hillary, who will destroy the whole world[1].

[1] [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/hillary-is-
the-c...](http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeffrey-sachs/hillary-is-the-
candidate_b_9168938.html)

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kazinator
I hope for his sake he got a cut of the action and is sipping a drink on some
beach somewhere.

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roflchoppa
I wonder who took him, ex-government employees, or the e-robbers themselves.

My bet is on the ex-government employees.

~~~
tonmoy
I would assume the current government may have a hand in it (they have been
accused of similar things before)

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escape_goat
Without knowing anything about the political situation in Bangladesh, I can
say that the run-around that local police have given his family would fit the
pattern that has followed extrajudicial detentions elsewhere. At best, he has
been detained by the government, at worst he has been abducted/murdered with
their tacit complicity, and at the least one of these is believed to be the
case by local law-enforcement.

~~~
roflchoppa
shame people dont have GPS built into them. ;( hope he is okay

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droithomme
He's dead. At least they didn't kill his family as well.

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nxzero
Strange that the family knows who he worked for, but would not say.

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mcphage
He's probably not coming back :-(

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ChuckMcM
Doesn't really add to the conversation but it is the obvious conclusion.
Bloggers that write about the Zetas, reporters who report on suspicious voting
activity in Russia, and security professionals who call out the misdeeds of
their government. The Internet makes it "easy" to be heard and "easy" to be
found.

I am always curious about the difference between folks who just want to call
out bad behavior and folks who want to correct it. Some people will not feel
they are empowered to enact change, I think there are great counter examples
to that feeling although I understand it.

For example, I used to follow Dancho Danchev who was publishing really
actionable information about information security problems, I even created an
"auto bad domain locator" tool from it. But then he stopped. His actions which
merely noted the mechanics of what was going on, and sure sometimes called out
bad ISPs, was useful to others in the community who were protecting their
infrastructure.

~~~
SixSigma
Hong Kong bookstore owners

[http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-
china-35338484](http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-china-35338484)

