[kictanet] Shedding light on the dark web

[Tony White]

...and another interesting read:

"Ex-Google engineers have spent 2 years secretly trying to solve 'the
hardest problem in banking' ",
applying blockchain technology to core banking systems.

http://goo.gl/kIkabb

Cheers,
Tony


On 15/07/2016, Ali Hussein via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> Elizabeth and all
>
> Well put. The detractors of digital currencies always point out National
> Security concerns, terrorism and money laundering as a way to let the world
> know how dangerous they are. What they fail to tell us is that these issues
> will remain whether or not digital currencies remain. And of course there is
> also the possibility that technologies like Blockchains are now being tested
> by regulators to counter/monitor systemic failures/risk in global financial
> systems.
>
> Here's interesting reading on this issue:-
>
> http://www.bna.com/regulators-show-interest-n57982064247/
>
> Ali Hussein
> Principal
> Hussein & Associates
> +254 0713 601113 / 0770906375
>
> Twitter: @AliHKassim
> Skype: abu-jomo
> LinkedIn: http://ke.linkedin.com/in/alihkassim
>
>
> "Discovery consists in seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what
> no one else has thought".  ~ Albert Szent-Györgyi
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
>> On 15 Jul 2016, at 10:22 AM, Elizabeth Rossiello via kictanet
>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>
>> Greetings all,
>>
>> Yes this does occur with digital currencies -- but how many drugs are sold
>> for cash in Kenya?  Around the world? The percentage sold via the "dark
>> web" is infinitesimal.  These "dark markets" are also crawling with law
>> enforcement agents, setting meetups and stings just as they would for
>> normal illegal transactions.  The use of digital currencies for payment on
>> the dark web is an exciting movie plotline but not any real threat for
>> increasing the amount of drug use.
>>
>> Rather than support scary stories about drugs and terrorism -- which
>> research by banks and law enforcement has continued to prove is not an
>> issue -- let's look at some of the real risk / risk mitigation tactics of
>> digital currencies:
>>
>> RISK 1: retail users who do not know how to use this technology can
>> struggle and lose their money; by either engaging in pyramid schemes,
>> phishing scams, or by even forgetting their password.  This is similar to
>> when ATM cards were first distributed, or even mobile money, and there was
>> a lot of education to do about proper password security, responding to
>> mobile money themed text scams, etc.
>>
>> Mitigation Tactic: Require companies using this technology to have
>> customer support, consumer protection policies, and multi-level sign-up or
>> account opening processes to self-select more tech savvy customers
>>
>> RISK 2:  companies that "store" or hold wallets of digitial currencies for
>> consumers do not follow appropriate storage and core capital
>> requirements...putting their customer's money at risk.
>>
>> Mitigation Tactic: Just as when the DTM license was introduced in Kenya -
>> any company set up in the country that stores customer funds should have
>> strict deposit-taking requirements, safeguards, etc.
>>
>> Thanks for listening!
>> Elizabeth
>>
>>
>>> On Fri, Jul 15, 2016 at 12:31 AM, Wangari Kabiru via kictanet
>>> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
>>> Blessed Furahi Day!
>>>
>>> Read on the two sides of the "coin".
>>>
>>> Be blessed.
>>>
>>> Regards/Wangari
>>>
>>> ====
>>>
>>> Shedding light on the dark web
>>>
>>> The drug trade is moving from the street to online cryptomarkets.......
>>>
>>> Online drug markets are part of the “dark web”: sites only accessible
>>> through browsers such as Tor, which route communications via several
>>> computers and layers of encryption, making them almost impossible for law
>>> enforcement to track. Buyers and sellers make contact using e-mail
>>> providers such as Sigaint, a secure dark-web service, and encryption
>>> software such as Pretty Good Privacy (PGP). They settle up in bitcoin, a
>>> digital currency that can be exchanged for the old-fashioned sort and
>>> that offers near-anonymity during a deal.
>>> Almost all sales are via “cryptomarkets”: dark websites that act as
>>> shop-fronts. These provide an escrow service, holding payments until
>>> customers agree to the bitcoin being released. Feedback systems like
>>> those on legitimate sites such as Amazon and eBay allow buyers to rate
>>> their purchases and to leave comments, helping other customers to choose
>>> a trustworthy supplier. The administrators take a 5-10% cut of each sale
>>> and set broad policy (for example, whether to allow the sale of guns).
>>> They pay moderators in bitcoin to run customer forums and handle
>>> complaints......
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Elizabeth Rossiello
>> CEO and Co-Founder
>> BitPESA
>> Nigeria: +234 909 345 4135
>> Kenya: +254 710 891 851
>> Skype: erossiello
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>>
>> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
>> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
>> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
>> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and
>> development.
>>
>> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
>> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
>> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
>> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>


-- 
Tony White