Volume 4 Crazy Growth 2017 Chapter 822 A Blessing in Disguise
The advent of the Internet age has not only promoted the progress of human civilization and allowed human civilization to reach unprecedented heights, but the Internet has also naturally become the greatest invention of human civilization, without a doubt.
Of course, when the Internet began to emerge in 1962, with its weak functions and huge servers, even the people who created it probably didn't think that the Internet would grow to its current size.
It was not until the 1990s that the Internet was officially opened to the public, and it was not until 1994 that we officially joined the Internet group chat, so from the public's perspective, the Internet can perhaps be considered a post-90s generation.
Despite its young age, the Internet has had a profound impact in less than three decades that is no less than any industrial revolution in human history. It has not only directly changed the way of production, but also profoundly affected everyone's lifestyle.
Unlike the first two industrial revolutions, which we can only glimpse from textbooks and history, this third industrial revolution is happening right now. We are not only witnessing this history, but also experiencing it.
However, everything has two sides. As the Internet's position in human civilization becomes increasingly entrenched and it is deeply involved in the construction of all walks of life, it is constantly influencing the progress of human civilization.
The discussions and reflections on cybersecurity have unknowingly become an insurmountable major issue of this era. It has not only risen to the level of national strategic security, but also has an impact on the fate of mankind.
The Internet is like a Pandora's box. Besides the benefits it brings, it also brings disadvantages.
But compared with the huge value it creates, such a small side effect is obviously not worth mentioning.
When a virus called "wannaCry" swept the world silently and rapidly, that day humans suddenly remembered the fear they had once felt when dominated by the virus.
This kind of disaster, which is unique to the Internet, has become common since the Internet entered the public eye in the 1990s, and has caused several major events that shocked the world.
Perhaps the biggest essential difference between Internet viruses and real-life viruses is that Internet viruses are often man-made, while real-life viruses are more likely to be the result of natural mutations.
Just like in the real world, after thousands of years of unilateral attacks by viruses, humans have gradually mastered some scientific countermeasures and even learned how to develop vaccines to "learn from the enemy's strengths in order to defeat the enemy."
The same is true in the world of the Internet. Although we have not been dealing with this world of code composed of 1s and 0s for a long time, the smokeless war of attack and defense against Internet viruses has never really stopped.
After all, natural disasters may stop one day, but man-made disasters never stop.
And if there are older netizens who have been online for a while, they must still remember the last virus that wreaked havoc in the Internet world and caused considerable turmoil.
Because the virus is named after the Chinese national treasure, which is "Panda Burning Incense!"
Although the creator was a self-taught person, he became famous overnight with a virus known as the "King of Viruses". He also wrote his name into the history of the domestic Internet and became the first person to be convicted for creating an Internet virus.
If such a talented technical person had taken the right path back then, he might have achieved even more brilliant success.
Oh, by the way, this guy was released from prison early due to good behavior. After he was released from prison, he went to a network security company called Panda Security with his great reputation in the world.
However, the good times did not last long. This guy still did not forget his original intention and once again frantically tested the edge of illegality. Eventually he was sent to jail again for organizing a casino.
He has proved to everyone through his own actions that "the methods of making money are recorded in the criminal law."
Ahem, let's get back to the topic. Perhaps it was because after the "Panda Burning Incense" incident, a technical talent who came from an unconventional background taught a group of regular troops a lesson, so they learned from their mistakes and launched an arms race in the field of network security.
Anti-virus software on the market has sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, showing a posture that is more ferocious than viruses, and has quickly occupied users' computers. It is somewhat similar to vaccines.
However, since then, there have not been many viruses that can cause a stir. Apart from Panda Burning Incense, there are basically no other viruses that can leave a deep impression on the general public.
Of course, the love-hate relationship between antivirus software and chat software, and the sensational 3Q war are more memorable than viruses.
With the advent of the mobile Internet era, the concept of "virus" seems to have gradually disappeared due to its inability to adapt to the local environment and has been temporarily forgotten by the general public.
Especially for a generation that was born in the mobile Internet era, the term "virus" is relatively unfamiliar, and some have never even heard of it.
After all, both the increasingly improved Internet conditions and the introduction of relevant laws on cybercrime mean that the Internet has passed that wild period when many heroes emerged.
The high cost of crime and the visible technical barriers are enough to discourage technical personnel who are capable of doing this kind of thing. After all, wouldn't it be a thankless task to go to such great lengths to do this?
Why do something that has no benefits? And if you have the technical means, you don’t need to rely on such a risky way to make money unless you have no other choice.
To this day, the idea of using technical means to invade the bank system and then modify one's deposit numbers can basically only remain in the fantasy stage, or appear in film and television works.
As for controlling the world's nuclear warheads through the Internet, it is obviously impossible to do it again in the face of physical isolation. Even Mitnick could not do it.
However, with the blockchain concept proposed by Satoshi Nakamoto and the birth of the virtual currency Bitcoin, this so-called "decentralized" blockchain currency has been continuously improved and developed in just a few years, and has gradually formed a complete trading system.
Whether it is its anonymity or the fact that transactions can be conducted anytime and anywhere 24 hours a day, this virtual currency naturally gives it a delicate gray color.
To some extent, this unregulated virtual currency is a shelter tailor-made for the gray industry. There is no need for elaborate money laundering and transfer, it is enough to just convert it into Bitcoin.
Especially since the beginning of this year, Bitcoin has begun to appreciate continuously, and its market value has also climbed up at a visible speed, from more than US$900 at the beginning of 2017 to nearly US$3,000 per coin now.
It has more than tripled in half a year, which undoubtedly reflects the market's recognition of virtual assets such as Bitcoin.
Any tool is neutral when it is first created, but it cannot withstand the ulterior motives of those who use it. This is true for gunpowder and virtual currency.
As the saying goes, money makes people move. Under the temptation of visible benefits, it naturally attracted the attention of some people who began to think about how to use this new tool to make money.
Products that combine virtual currency and viruses suddenly came into being. Not only can they cleverly avoid risks, but they are also profitable. Such a simple and efficient method is enough to make people who have this ability excited.
Thus, the "WannaCry virus" appeared. In today's more developed Internet context, billions of pieces of information are transmitted and exchanged every day, which is undoubtedly a breeding ground for the spread of the virus.
Therefore, compared with its predecessors, its transmission speed has increased several times. It spread rapidly in a very short period of time, and in the blink of an eye it has spread to dozens of countries. More than 100,000 computers have been attacked by the ransomware virus.
Once a computer is attacked by a ransomware virus, the data in the computer will be instantly locked and encrypted, and the corresponding Bitcoin must be paid to unlock it. If this is not done, the data in the computer will be destroyed.
The ransom is worth about 300 US dollars, which is about 2,069 yuan. For most ordinary people, it is obviously an affordable amount of money, but it is also not a small amount.
Especially the feeling of being blackmailed is always unpleasant.
On the other hand, for most ordinary people, the data stored in personal computers are often of great significance, and even some out-of-print data without backup is difficult to estimate in value.
Even if they are just some "learning materials", they are the results of one's own labor of spending enough time to collect them. They are of considerable commemorative value and humanistic feelings. If they are destroyed, it will be an unacceptable result for most people.
Even though the computers were locked, it did not prevent these users from taking out their mobile phones and sending relevant information to the Internet. For a time, the public was outraged and many users spoke out to condemn the creators of the ransomware virus.
After all, not everyone’s computer contains only “learning materials”. Some are real learning materials, some are students’ graduation theses, or some data that some staff have put a lot of effort into.
Not to mention that there are computers in the financial, medical and other industries, the value of their data is even more difficult to calculate. For a time, the discussion about the ransomware virus spread instantly on the Internet, and quickly became a hot search on related platforms, attracting a large number of onlookers and discussions.
With this opportunity, the three words "Bitcoin" naturally entered the public eye. Many people were very curious, why did this ransomware want nothing else but this thing?
This virus is quite martial, and it is clear that it only needs money to get a car. This highly topical explosive point alone is enough to make this public Internet security incident a hot topic sweeping the world.
Although different from the previous viruses that were born only to cause damage, this virus still has some room for negotiation, so it is not so panic-inducing.
More importantly, this ransomware is based on computer systems, and nowadays most Internet users use smartphones as their main Internet terminals, which is enough to allow these users to remain unscathed and watch the fire from the other side of the river.
Before the emergence of mobile ransomware, they obviously did not need to worry about it. Instead, those deep computer users, or those who need to rely on computers for work, need to be afraid.
What's worse is that some people just want to watch the fun and hope that the virus will sweep the world and paralyze the company's computers, so that they can have a legitimate holiday, right?
It has to be said that fun people are always everywhere.
With the popularization and explanation of some caring people, hot words such as blockchain, decentralization, Bitcoin, etc. have also sparked heated discussions on the Internet.
While many people were amazed, they also realized for the first time that there is such a magical currency in the world. The high-sounding concept inherently gives people a sense of extraordinary visual experience.
As the ransomware craze intensifies around the world, Bitcoin is naturally receiving more and more attention!
With this as a driving force, the value of Bitcoin has undoubtedly been further recognized by the market, and it has also played the role of a price anchor in the minds of the general public.
The definition of value is relative, but there is no doubt that if something can be recognized by the general public, this recognition can give it value, even if before that, this thing is "worthless" and is just a string of meaningless codes.
When more and more people recognize and give it value, then this thing will have the basis for circulation in the market. One of the major factors in measuring the value of currency is undoubtedly liquidity.
Currency that has no liquidity and does not have exchange function means that it has lost its monetary value, and vice versa.
When Bitcoin is recognized by more and more people and begins to circulate in large quantities in the market, forming a positive cycle, its value will grow like a snowball!
The emergence of the ransomware virus undoubtedly poured a spoonful of hot oil on the already heating up Bitcoin market. With a bang, the raging fire jumped three feet high, and the entire Bitcoin market began to gallop like a wild horse!
With the growing momentum, Bitcoin reached its all-time high of US$3,500. At the same time, its daily trading volume exceeded US$2.5 billion, its liquidity was greatly enhanced, and its daily increase exceeded 13.27%!
At the same time, the market was ready to reach the 4,000 US dollar mark, and then it entered a cycle of ups and downs again, with fluctuations of more than 10%, ups and downs and steady improvement.
As the ransomware virus raged, the value of Bitcoin soared, reaching the $4,000 mark at one point.
Some victims even benefit from this because the data in their computers is valuable and they are willing to pay the ransom to redeem their precious data.
When buying Bitcoin, I felt that even criminals were so fond of it, so I might as well try to buy more and treat it as an investment.
Unexpectedly, I bought at the right time when the market was booming. In just one or two trading days, I not only earned back the lost ransom, but even made a small profit!
It is a true portrayal of "A blessing in disguise". This is not a ransomware virus, it is simply a money-giving boy.
For a time, more and more hot money flowed into the Bitcoin market, forming a combined force to push the Bitcoin market value to continue to rise!
