Cloud Computing Security and Privacy

The Question:  Should  the  authorities  be allowed to use unlawful measures, such as hacking, in order to apprehend those who are doing so for financial gain?

We hear stories of Silk Road being shut down and the F.B.I arresting  Ross Ulbricht as a result of unlawful activity. Silk Road was able to exist and function through the use of ‘darknet’ and ‘Tor’. Darknet uses peer-to-peer networks in order to remain anonymous, and Tor (aka The Onion Router) uses separate servers in order to disguise users online presence and location.

The paper trail that would normally accumulate during sales of over $1.2 billion to a million customers was hidden by the use of a virtual currency system called ‘bitcoin’. Bitcoin covered the financial tracks that are often left by credit card use online. The FBI discovered the six servers hidden in various locations around the world. These servers provided the data that exposed transactions, enabled the site to be shutdown, as well as the arrest of Ulbricht.