We take a look at all sides of the recent Bitcoin crash & the fallout for the Miners. The Silk Road trial gets underway, with a major problem Plus how CISPA 3.0 could create a cyber police state.

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Show Notes:

David Cameron seeks cooperation of US president over encryption crackdown | UK news

David Cameron is to urge Barack Obama to pressure internet firms such as Twitter and Facebook to do more to cooperate with Britain’s intelligence agencies as they seek to track the online activities of Islamist extremists.

Bitcoin Volatility Puts Miners Under Pressure

“The virtual currency Bitcoin lost 21 per cent of its value yesterday, equating to a total loss this year of 44 per cent. Reports have suggested that this rapid fall is squeezing computer supporting systems and is raising alarm about its future viability. Bitcoin’s value fell to $179.37, 85 per cent lower than its record peak of $1,165 at the end of 2013. In total, nearly $11.3bn has been lost in Bitcoin’s value since its 2013 high. The decline has raised concern for Bitcoin ‘miners’ who support the transactions made in the digital currency, and whose profits become squeezed as its price falls against traditional currencies.”

• Bitcoin Price Continues to Fall, Breaks $200 Mark

CryptoWall ransomware is back with new version after two months of silence | PCWorld

CryptoWall is a sophisticated ransomware program that encrypts the victims’ files with a strong cryptographic algorithm. Users are asked to pay the equivalent of $500 in bitcoin virtual currency in order to receive the decryption key that allows them to recover their files.

• Crowti update – CryptoWall 3.0 – Microsoft Malware Protection Center – Site Home – TechNet Blogs

There’s a Problem In the Silk Road Trial: the Jury Doesn’t Get the Internet – Slashdot

“The trial began this week for Ross Ulbricht, the 30-year-old Texas man accused of being the mastermind behind the dark net drug market, Silk Road. But as the jury began hearing testimony in the case, it was clear the technological knowledge gap would impede the proceedings. Judge Katherine Forrest said right off the bat when the case began that “highly technical” issues must be made clear to the jury. “If I believe things are not understandable to the average juror, we will talk about what might be a reasonable way to proceed at that time,” she said. After the first day of proceedings, Forrest told the prosecution to be more clear with explanations of concepts central to the case, noting she was unhappy with its “mumbo-jumbo” explanation of the anonymizing service Tor. She also requested all readings of chat transcripts include emoticons.”

Errata Security: Obama’s War on Hackers

In next week’s State of the Union address, President Obama will propose new laws against hacking that could make either retweeting or clicking on the above link illegal. The new laws make it a felony to intentionally access unauthorized information even if it’s been posted to a public website. The new laws make it a felony to traffic in information like passwords, where “trafficking” includes posting a link.