General Insurance Spring Conference – Ethics and considerations in paying out cyber insurance policies with Bitcoin for ransom demands
I have a 28-year career in policing and have investigated many different types of crime including cyber-enabled and cyber-dependent crime. This has included offenders wishing to extort companies and be paid in Bitcoin or other digital currency. I have negotiated with cybercriminals on behalf of companies and I've also taught hostage negotiators what to consider when dealing in cryptocurrency as a commodity. I will briefly explain what Bitcoins are and how they work. I will encourage the audience to consider the ethics, difficulties and problems in paying bad actors in cryptocurrency from a company or via a cyber insurance policy.