Bitcoin could easily be involved in the hacker DDoS attack on 400,000 Turkish websites, Dave Palmer, former British intelligence GCHQ and MI5 cybersecurity expert, told The Telegraph.

The websites affected by the massive attack all belonged to the country’s official domain name with the suffix .tr, including governmental institutions, universities and schools, the military and numerous national businesses. According to various speculations, it is possible that the attack has been initiated by Russian hackers.

In an interview for the UK media The Telegraph Palmer explained:

“It could just as easily be a teenager in a bedroom with some bitcoin who has rented a botnet to do the attack, as it could be someone more sophisticated.”

Dave Palmer is a co-founder and Director of Technology at Darktrace, a cybersecurity company. He has more than ten years of experience in government intelligence operations, developing operational internet capabilities and managing critical incidents. 

In June 2015 a teenager from Virginia pleaded guilty to providing material help to the ISIS terrorist group. The Attorney General of Virginia stated that Ali Shukri Amin, 17, specifically gave ISIS members advice on bitcoin.

Sonya Belova