This title somehow scares me and fascinates me at the same time, mostly because of the last part which is "harmful cyber activities". That part depends on the US and what they deem as harmful so it's sketchy in that way but otherwise seems like a good opportunity for those that might already be in said field. Onto what was actually said...
Most people know that there has been a rise in cyber-attacks recently all around the world but particularly in the US where the attacks managed to cripple multiple important facilities through just a couple of months. Due to this the the US government agencies announced that they would be introducing a program called Rewards for Justice. The name is self-explanatory, people will be incentivized to help detect perpetrators as well as those that may be planning cyber attacks. The rewards could go up to $10 million if the information given was important enough for the solving or finding of said perps. This amount would optionally also be available as crypto for those that are interested.
Commensurate with the seriousness with which we view these cyber threats, the Rewards for Justice program has set up a Dark Web (Tor-based) tips-reporting channel to protect the safety and security of potential sources ... The Reward For Justice program also is working with interagency partners to enable the rapid processing of information as well as the possible relocation of and payment of rewards to sources. Reward payments may include payments in cryptocurrency.
Another thing to note is that throughout the announcement it has been mentioned that this would be aimed mostly towards identifying foreign attacks and people that may have executed the attack cause of directions they were given by a foreign government. How useful domestic information would be wasn't disclosed as much so we are not certain to what exactly this program extends to yet.
Despite my doubts about the uses of the information given I have to say it is good to finally see a step in the right direction when it comes to digital security and incentivizing regular people, or people that just aren't designated by the government, to stop attacks that might harm a lot more people rather than just the government. Still, we should be mindful as even this might have a hidden agenda that almost certainly doesn't benefit us...
Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed!
