In ransomware fight, US government, industry join forces: Report

New task force to focus on regulating cryptocurrencies to rein in hackers who collected almost $350m last year: Reuters.

The United States government and industry officials confronting an epidemic of ransomware attacks are zeroing in on cryptocurrency regulation as the key to combating the scourge, sources familiar with the work of a public-private task force tells the Reuters news agency. In a ransomware attack, hackers freeze the computers of a target and demand a payoff. In a report on Thursday, the panel of experts is expected to call for a far more aggressive tracking of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. While those have won greater acceptance among investors over the past year, they remain the lifeblood of ransomware operators and other criminals who face little risk of prosecution in much of the world.