Bitcoin in the news again - Senate takes a close look.

It's clear Bitcoins are growing in popularity. The price of the currency soared to a new all-time high of $675 Monday, up from only $12 a year ago. Without meddling banks in between transactions, Bitcoins trade seamlessly and offer nearly as much privacy as cash.

That's why the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs is hearing from various sides Monday. According to prepared statements from the Justice Department, an official at the DOJ said it needs more help catching criminals who use the secretive currency. Meanwhile, Bitcoin users want the government to back off and let the system blossom.

Law enforcement doesn't like the anonymity - there are legitimate uses for Bitcoins. But it's also being used to anonymously buy drugs, hire assassins, trade child porn and dodge taxes.

The nation's acting assistant attorney general, Mythili Raman, described the more notorious ways Bitcoins are being used. She mentioned the recent FBI shutdown of Silk Road, an online black market. Illicit drugs and services were sold there using the untraceable currency. The agency arrested its alleged founder and seized 170,000 BTC, valued at $101 million as of Monday afternoon.

The way Bitcoins are transacted, using coded wallets and special keys that don't need real names, enables substantial privacy. That makes it more difficult to follow the money and catch criminals.

Along those lines, there are concerns that those making money from sex trafficking and pornography involving children have started to adopt Bitcoin.

The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children noted how anonymity offered by Bitcoin has made it the currency of choice for predators. The nonprofit group's president, Ernie Allen, says he's not against the digital economy. But he wants it less private.

"If the perception of anonymity diminishes, we believe the criminal use will diminish with it," he said in prepared remarks.

Edward Lowery III, who leads the Secret Service's criminal investigative division, added that the technologically complex Bitcoin system makes it hard for everyday agents to stay on targets' tails. They need more tech-savvy investigators than the agency can currently afford.

Also chiming in was the potential regulator that could one-day ruin the unregulated Bitcoin party: The Treasury Department.

Treasury already issued guidance in March saying that groups exchanging Bitcoins must register with the government and keep records. Everyday Bitcoin users remain unregulated. Jennifer Shasky Calvery is head of the department's financial crimes unit and warned about leaving the Bitcoin community untouched.

"One of our biggest challenges is striking the right balance between the costs and benefits of regulation," she said.

The Bitcoin community doesn't want too much regulation. Fans of Bitcoin say the currency is going mainstream, and it's not just for internet weirdos. That's why they want the government to give it a chance to grow and thrive without tacking on burdensome rules.

The Bitcoin Foundation, a group that seeks to strengthen the digital system, is trying to convince politicians the currency works as is.

The group also notes that meetings with financial regulators have gone well so far, but the Treasury Department should have met with Bitcoin supporters before taking a stance earlier this year.

"The American people have been reminded this year of reasons to be concerned for their privacy," says the group's attorney, Patrick Murck, referencing the recent disclosures about unwarranted government spying on innocent citizens.

Source: CNN Money

The federal government has been asked to stay away from Defcon hacker event this year!

The federal government is persona non grata at this year's Defcon.

For the first time in the 21-year-history of the famed hacker's convention, government employees are being asked to stay away, albeit in a polite fashion.

Def Con founder Jeff Moss, aka The Dark Tangent, posted the following plea on the event's Web site late Wednesday:

Feds, we need some time apart.
For over two decades DEF CON has been an open nexus of hacker culture, a place where seasoned pros, hackers, academics, and feds can meet, share ideas and party on neutral territory. Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect.
When it comes to sharing and socializing with feds, recent revelations have made many in the community uncomfortable about this relationship. Therefore, I think it would be best for everyone involved if the feds call a "time-out" and not attend DEF CON this year.
This will give everybody time to think about how we got here, and what comes next.
The Dark Tangent

Moss, who also advises the Department of Homeland Security on security issues, told Reuters he believes the Defcon community needs some time to digest the recent leaks about U.S. surveillance programs.

"The community is digesting things that the Feds have had a decade to understand and come to terms with," Moss said. "A little bit of time and distance can be a healthy thing, especially when emotions are running high."

But Def Con won't be hiring a bunch of bouncers to throw out the Feds.

"We are not going on a witch hunt or checking IDs and kicking people out," Moss added.

Def Con has always been geared toward hackers, researchers, and other security devotees. But employees from the CIA, the FBI, the NSA, and other government branches have been welcome and have attended for many years.

General Keith Alexander, the head of National Security Agency, even gave a keynote speech at last year's event. Alexander was asked at the time whether the government was snooping on its citizens and denied that the NSA was gathering information on all Americans.

Source: CNET

Watch out everyone...CISPA has passed in the House. Let's all hope it gets stuck in the Senate!

CISPA, the controversial bill intended to let Internet companies share information about users more freely with the government, has been passed by the House of Representatives. The bill has been touched up since its first appearance last year, but many remain suspicious after what they view as years of misguided tech legislation. Both outside critics and the White House have said CISPA is fundamentally unsound.

The Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA) is meant to let Internet companies share information with the government for cybersecurity purposes. A company like Facebook or Twitter, for instance, may have info the government wants, like when a user logged in or where they were at a certain time.

The bill would facilitate sharing that data, but many believe it throws privacy protections out the window in the process. Critics say it amounts to the government deputizing private companies to do their surveillance for them.

Source: NBC

If it can happen to the government, it can certainly happen to you! Hackers have attacked the US Department of Energy.

"The Department of Energy has just confirmed a recent cyber incident that occurred in mid-January which targeted the Headquarters' network and resulted in the unauthorized disclosure of employee and contractor Personally Identifiable Information".

The agency said that it is working to figure out the "nature and scope of the incident" but that so far it believes no classified data was compromised. It's currently unclear which divisions within the Department of Energy were attacked or who was behind the hack.

Source: CNET