Can Cybersecurity Professionals Agree there is a Benefit to Cryptocurrency?

I have been in quite the heated debate with my fellow cybersecurity professionals on LinkedIn regarding their perception that Bitcoin and cryptocurrency are only vehicles for cybercriminals. Yes, cryptocurrency is becoming a favorite among ransomware attacks and it is used by criminals to hide and move money in support of illicit activities. But I firmly believe that crypto is a tool that can be wielded for both good and evil, with the overall potential benefits outweighing the current misuses.   

After a day full of interesting back-and-forth debate, one very smart colleague posed a simple statement that highlighted the need to first discuss the benefits of cryptocurrency. He stated “I'm not sure I know of any use cases that cryptocurrencies offer which improve things beyond current digital methods of using FIAT, beyond those which seem to benefit criminals”   

I realized (albeit a little late) that most of the cybersecurity community audiences lack an understanding of the tangible potential benefits and therefore they only see the downsides.     

So, I quickly offered the following list as an introductory primer for those in the cybersecurity world who might not see any positive use-cases for cryptocurrency:  

  1. Extends banking and money services to those who would normally not have access, especially in developing or struggling nations Ex. savings and checking accounts, loans and micro-loans, protected/low-risk investments 
  2. Saves money by eliminating middlemen-fees for purchase transactions and transfers. Ex. the 1.5%-3.5% for credit cards that merchants must surrender to accept credit cards 
  3. Greatly reduces money manipulation by centrally issued entities, usually governments, in the form of devaluation due to massive printing 
  4. Resists fraud, manipulation, and destruction from central control entities (ex. the fidelity of property ownership records for many types of assets – currency, homes, land, etc.  
  5. Resistant to hyperinflation events 
  6. Allows for the privacy of transactions, to restrict data to only those who are authorized (ex. data breaches, illegal tracking, etc.) 
  7. Highly resistant to post-transaction tampering  
  8. Capable of near-perfect audit records 
  9. Allows micro-transactions, fractions of pennies for online and other payments. Ex. supporting the decentralized economies and digital services  
  10. Transactions can capture tremendous meta-data, allowing for many new usages 
  11. Wildcard: Can be used as part of automated digital contracts (automated and unbreakable) and Decentralized Autonomous Organizations which promotes trust in digital technologies   


It is not intended to be a complete list, but I think it is a good start. In reality, each of these items could spawn a whole new discussion with levels of meaningful detail and examples.   


What are your thoughts? Did I miss something important? I am interested to know what your personal perspectives are regarding cryptocurrency and cybersecurity. Please share in the comments. 


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Wow, I'm really surprised that a group so well connected to tech would sound so ignorant to reason with the same rhetoric as Secretary of Treasury Munchkin, Peter Shiff and Senator Brad Sherman as well as many others of that camp.

Many of the criminals that have used bitcoin for illegal purposes have been found, arrested and put out of circulation including that large pedo ring that was busted recently. Something that was only possible due to the audibility that you speak of in your list.

Well, I am doing my part to educate them! Well, trying anyways.

Hehe... I think you're doing a great job and whether they get it or not you are literally spoon feeding them.

Good list.

Oh, how familiar this sounds.

I have these discussions regularly with colleagues. I tell them all the time to remove the "currency" and just think about technology.

The industry I work in could benefit greatly from this technology. We are talking about an industry, during a recent audit, could not account for trillions of dollars, yes trillions with a 'T'.

The audit never finished, they stopped after spinning wheels trying to track down transactions in an antiquated and diverse set of accounting systems. This would not happen using blockchain tech.

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Dear @mrosenquist

Interesting read. I've been paying more attention to cybersecurity since I got interested with blockchain and I quickly understood, that without middle-man (banks) responsible for security of our finances - we will all be responsible for it. And threats of being hacked will be higher now than ever.

I'm not sure I know of any use cases that cryptocurrencies offer which improve things beyond current digital methods of using FIAT, beyond those which seem to benefit criminals

Well, I know surely few. And Steem blockchain is one of those use cases. Would I be ever able to work with users from 3rd world countries (like Venezuela) and pay them for some tasks? Maybe. But sending 10$ to such a country would cost me half of those funds and would take long days to "safely arrive" to destination. Assuming that such a person would have an access to banking system.

So I do not really agree with that statement.

Thx also for sharing link to your debate with your friend. John Reed Stark - is that you or your friend you've mentioned?
Yours, Piotr

I have been going back and forth with John, but it was Simon that actually made the inquiry about value-add.

Thanks for your prompt reply @mrosenquist

Could I ask you for little favour? I'm not sure if I did ask you about it already or not (hope I'm not repeating myself).

Could you please check out also my recent post if you have few min and share your thoughts on questions related to concept of "introducing steem blockchain to businesses":
https://steemit.com/steemleo/@crypto.piotr/my-very-first-trip-to-switzerland-one-of-the-most-crypto-and-blockchain-friendly-place-on-the-planet-earth

Your feedback is always appreciated ;) And I will upvote most valuable comment with 100-200k SP coming from project.hope account.
Yours, Piotr

I just posted to the LinkedIn conversation. I do like a lot of the dialogue. Very professional, which it should be for the platform of professionals. Regretfully, I have seen growing instances of discussions looking more like Facebook rants and arguments.

Rants happen sometimes on LI, but I find it mostly professional. I like that.

Yes. Rants are fine, but when they devolve into name-calling and unprofessional dialogue, it is not good. I have seen too much of that lately on LinkedIn.

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