Fergie's Tech Blog

Outside View: Terror, Crime Go Digital

Rachel Ehrenfeld and John Wood write on UPI's Outside View:

Emerging digital technologies to move money instantaneously and anonymously open up new possibilities for criminals and terrorists, while regulatory and law-enforcement agencies are limping far behind.

On May 3, at the release of the 2007 Money Laundering Strategy, the U.S. Treasury spokesperson was pleased to note: "Focusing on well-established money laundering methods and emerging trends identified in the Assessment, we have created a robust strategy for combating money laundering, deterring criminals, and addressing areas vulnerable to exploitation."

Yet the latest digital advances open to criminals and terrorists -- mobile phones or other mobile devices to secretly transfer money globally, or M-payments; gambling; and transfer of virtual money through online role-playing games, or RPGs -- are missing from this long-awaited government strategy.

posted by Fergie @ 5/23/2007 06:07:00 PM