OCC.GOV WILL REGULATE BITCOINS BY 2020 OR SOONER #BigIdeas2018

#BigIdeas2018

As a Top 1% of LinkedIn Cyber Security Expert, the folks at LinkedIn asked me to write a predictive article about 2018. So, I’m sharing my thoughts on why Bitcoin is absolutely in a bubble – separate from the fact that you can’t buy a cup of coffee with your Bitcoin without paying between $23 to $30 USD transaction fee, which of course is making ‘lighter’ crypto coins interesting like Ethereum and Litecoin and others. It’s all about the Blockchain and performance, or is it? We’ll it turns out there’s an even bigger problem – a huge cloud looming. What could it be? Let me sum it up in BOLD below…

KEYLOGGERS – FRAUD – CYBER-CRIME – WALLET THEFT

Right now at my magazine, Cyber Defense Magazine aka CDM, we are VERY CONCERNED with many people jumping into the Crypto-currency world and getting ripped off, like in the early days of the Forex, which sparked the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC.gov) and others to get involved and regulate the Forex trading exchanges due to so much rampant fraud.

Some of the top reasons we have concerns are:

• Computers and mobile devices are infected with zero-day key-loggers from cyber criminals and nation states;
• Electronic Wallets for storing bitcoin related information will be run by novices who don’t understand strong crypto, strong password management, multi-factor authentication and good computer hygiene including patch management, vulnerability remediation, next generation antivirus cleanup, advanced firewalls, host-based intrusion prevention and even daily backups. Wallets will be easily compromised and crypto-currencies stolen;
• Few online trading sites and platforms will be 100% trustworthy and none will be 100% secure. Expect online trading fraud, theft of online cryptocurrency accounts and online hacking to run rampant in this space.

When regulators jump in due to fraud it can be a good thing but for a crypto-currency it will most likely cause the bubble to burst and we’ll see the Internal Revenue Service (IRS.gov) push for it to be treated as a form of currency when, for now, they and the US Treasury (treasury.gov) call it an ‘asset’ like a book or your house. It won’t take much for the growth of crypto-currency tied to the attraction of a soft-underbelly hacking target to make this a reality. Ultimately, the Office of Comptroller of Currency (OCC.gov) will regulate Bitcoins and the like – any cryptocurrency that gets popular in the USA will get regulated. This could actually be a good thing because so many have already experienced fraud, cyber-crime and wallet theft that it’s getting out of control and reaching the “BILLIONS” in theft level, way too quickly. It almost makes the central banks look safe.

So, my prediction for 2018 or as LinkedIn asked for my #BigIdeas2018 is explosive growth in CRIME in this area, leading to regulators stepping in, well-meaning, to help, and hence causing the COUNTERVEILLANCE ie ‘invisible’ nature of the currency to lose its luster and pop the bubble.

Keep an eye on this page at Cyber Defense Magazine and see if my predictions come true.  Originally published on LinkedIn here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/occgov-regulate-bitcoins-2020-sooner-bigideas2018-gary-miliefsky/

About The Author

Gary S. Miliefsky, Publisher, Cyber Defense Magazine

Gary is a globally recognized cybersecurity expert, inventor and founder of numerous cybersecurity companies including Netwave, QuickBuy, NetClarity and SnoopWall. He is a frequent invited guest on national and international media commenting on mobile privacy, cyber security, cyber crime and cyber terrorism, also covered in both Forbes and Fortune Magazines. He has been extremely active in the infosec arena, he is an active member of Phi Beta Cyber Society (http://cybersecurityventures.com/phi-beta-cyber/), an organization dedicated to helping high school students become cyber security professionals and ethical hackers.

He founded and remains the Executive Producer of Cyber Defense Magazine. Miliefsky is a Founding Member of the US Department of Homeland Security (http://www.DHS.gov), the National Information Security Group (http://www.NAISG.org) and the OVAL advisory board of MITRE responsible for the CVE Program (http://CVE.mitre.org). He also assisted the National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC), which operates within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in their development of The National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace as well as the Center for the Study of Counter-Terrorism and Cyber Crime at Norwich University. Previously,

Gary has been founder and/or inventor for technologies and corporations sold and licensed to Hexis Cyber, Intel/McAfee, IBM, Computer Associates and BlackBox Corporation. Gary is a member of ISC2.org and is a CISSP®.

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