Why hackers want to get paid/ransom in bitcoins?

[OliverHall]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

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[|Admiral|]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

Bitcoin involves no government issueing of money and hackers can easily launder bitcoins..if they were to accept fiat then they could be hunted down easily by government bodies.
Moreover Bitcoin is fast to transact.

[doothewop]

Bitcoin involves no government issueing of money and hackers can easily launder bitcoins..if they were to accept fiat then they could be hunted down easily by government bodies.
Moreover Bitcoin is fast to transact.

Exactly. If I was in their place, I'd demand Dogecoin, just to be
funny and to bring the price up a bit. Imagine the news articles.

[DaMut]

Bitcoin well known in the world because its anonymity,
which mean it's very very hard to detect,that is why the hacker choose it as a place to send the money from their victim.
unlike Bank Transfer which is will lead you to the receiver,and else.
so,if the hacker use it as a place to receive the money,they can keep it safely and undetectable unless they're tracking the transaction
(but right now we can use a mixer to hidden it,so it's a bit hard to track it down).

[Emoclaw]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

They don't necessarily use Bitcoin due to its anonymity (it's not completely anonymous) but more like because it is the most widely known decentralized cryptocurrency.
They could easily use Monero and be 1000% untraceable, but it is much harder to acquire (as you'd have to buy Bitcoin anyway).

[cynical]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

they cannot be tracked easily with bitcoin especially, and if they use a mixing or blending service to jumble up the transactions its even more difficult. crypto offers a degree of privacy and hassle free laundering that other laundering methods do not

[travis.soppe]

Hackers would like to paid by bitcoin because of it is untrackable anonimity feature. So when you do a dirty job, you don't wannt be caught while you're getting paid.

[chesegrinder]

you must wondering why hacker wants to pay via bitcoin or other cryptocurrency? It si because of it ANONYMITY, you can track the payment in blockchain but it would not gives you name or identification. Thats one characteristic of crypto that Online criminal taking it advantage... Un like bank transfer it can track where the money was send and whos the receiver  

[RGBKey]

Bitcoin well known in the world because its anonymity,
which mean it's very very hard to detect,that is why the hacker choose it as a place to send the money from their victim.

This just isn't true. Bitcoin is pseudo-anonymous, and very easily traceable. Especially if you know the attacker's address, tracing it is easy. However, the chain can be broken by mixers or other online wallets.

The main reason it is used is because it is completely irreversible. Once they have the money, nobody can forcibly take it away from them.

[Javi_Anibarro]

the anonymity is a charateristic of the Bitcoin itself,
it can not be tracked easily by other people,and other than that it has not regulated yet.
it was like finding a fish in the ocean,it's very hard unless the hacker careless and send their Bitcoin into a local exchanger that have a unique address or something like that.
also the hacker can spend it in a hour to multiple wallets and cash out in the next day.

[pushups44]

Bitcoin appeals to hackers simply because it is digital money, and hackers work digitally. Bitcoin really isn't as anonymous as many people claim -- the ledger is public and can be tracked by anyone. A slick hacker can work anonymously, just like criminals can work anonymously with cash. I'm guessing once the bitcoin is obtained the hackers then convert their bitcoin to an actual anonymous coin, such as Monero.

[BenOnceAgain]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

While not completely anonymous, it is considerably more difficult to trace than, say, a bank wire or a "drop point" exchange of USD or other currency would be.

Plus, it's digital.  No need to have the logistics of establishing a bank account or scoping out a drop point.

But those bad uses of Bitcoin do NOT outweigh the benefits.  When I hear "terrorists are using BTC", or "North Korea is using BTC", or "drug traffickers are using BTC"... just remember, they're all using many more USD.

Just about any tool can be used for good or evil.

[Cindy1983]

Because Bitcoin is very secure that why many countries do not legalized Bitcoin cause they can totally control it. It's very difficult to find out who is the owner of any transaction. Crimes often take advantage of this case to commit crime such as drug trafficking or money laundering and the biggest money laundering related to Bitcoin I've ever known is Btc-e )

[RodeoX]

People who know what's wrong with fiat money and even exploit it, don't want it.  Why would they participate in a system they know is insecure?

[audaciousbeing]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

Hackers that asked for ransom in bitcoin have it at the back of their mind that they the chances of them being caught is very little and with the sophisticated technological break through, its possible they are never caught.

On the issue of whether they can be tracked or not? Yes they can if the relevant government dedicate its resources home and abroad to finding them but the question to ask is that, they money they are after, will it even be enough to cover the costs of going after them?.

Although, going after the hackers will the toughs but that does not mean they cannot be caught. It might take time compared to if they use fiat, but its not forever. It has happened before and it will still happen so they should not rejoice yet.

[krauzzer02]

Why? because bitcoin is a Decentralized currency, No government, bank firm, or specific person holds the bitcoin, putting their own shoes to me if i where them, i will also choose bitcoin as a form of payment and transaction for the ransom, this is one of the downside of being anonymous over your money, you controls it, you holds it. meaning they cannot simply trace you because bitcoin is for everyone, it is not like in banking that if you want to sue the hacker you can just request it to the bank as a form of investigation,my name will probably appear with the banking history and amount.

[bamboylee]

Maybe also because they can take it anywhere they want without the risk of being flagged by airport officers or risking having too much money on the bag. They can easily store, spend and launder it. No one tags someone who spends ten thousands of bitcoin but do that in dollars and you will be tagged by IRS.

[Karpeles]

Some hackers want, others don't. Much before Bitcoin ever existed black hat hacking was very profitable and ransomwares existed and thrived, among other plagues.

But for some reason the media only say about BTC

By the way, the big ransomwares attacks this year in the end were more an annoyance because few people paid the ransom

[CryptoTamer]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

breaking into the system for his own interests and asking for a ransom, this is a crime and certainly they don't want to be detected
therefore they request paid through bitcoin or other cryptocurrency,so it is not easily detected its existence

[orions.belt19]

I'm still new to the bitcoin universe. I was wondering what are the advantages for an hacker to get ransom or get paid in bitcoins? Like the WannaCry guys did. Can't they be tracked ?

Bitcoin involves no government issueing of money and hackers can easily launder bitcoins..if they were to accept fiat then they could be hunted down easily by government bodies.
Moreover Bitcoin is fast to transact.

Bitcoin has been a tool for money laundering which makes it suitable for ransom money. I guess that the hackers would prefer it because it won't be easily tracked plus there's no hassle of going through identifications. Government agencies have ways to easily track down cash but with Bitcoin, I think that they're still unfamiliar with it. Its fast and easy to use so hackers would definitely opt for the use of it. Also, Bitcoin is not tangible unlike with fiat money.