Bitcoin said to be key financing channel for ISILIslamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL), which has used technology to its advantage in recruitment and propaganda, has found a new funding avenue in virtual cash.
According to “hacktivists” at Ghost Security Group (GhostSec), ISIL has millions of dollars parked in several bitcoin accounts that it uses to fund terror operations.
Bitcoin accounts are opened using virtual money, but those digital funds can be cashed in for real money or goods. Bitcoin, said to be the world’s first decentralized currency, can also be sent between parties without the involvement of financial institutions.
“Terrorists need anonymity,” said cybersecurity expert Morgan Wright, a senior fellow at the Center for Digital Government, a national research and advisory institute on information technology policies. “Countries have gotten very good at tracking terror financing in the years since 9/11. Networks have looked for new ways to do it, and it appears they’ve found it in bitcoin.”
The ease with which anyone can send and receive virtual funds is documented on the bitcoin website (bitcoin.org):
“Sending bitcoins across borders is as easy as sending them across the street. There are no banks to make you wait three business days, no extra fees for making an international transfer, and no special limitations on the minimum or maximum amount you can send.”
http://www.worldtribune.com/bitcoin-said-to-be-key-financing-channel-for-isil/
