Jun. 29, 2018
In a novel investigative strategy, rather than just following the money, investigators went undercover as someone converting Bitcoin into cash, exploiting a financial bottleneck faced by dark web criminals. Law enforcement agencies are always looking for new ways to identify suspects on the dark web, whether that means using malware to unmask people, executing wide ranging attacks on the Tor anonymity network, or tracking a drug dealer’s physically mailed packages. But on Wednesday, the Department of Justice announced dozens of dark web arrests thanks to a relatively novel technique.
Jun. 29, 2018
The lifting of the ban – put in place in January amidfears that ads were used for fraud –was welcomed by industry figures, with some saying that itindicated the firm’s recognition of the potential of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. But perhaps more significant than the immediate implications for cryptocurrency firms is what the movesignals about Facebook’s own ambitions. Last month, the social network announced its biggest ever management reshuffle, which included the launch of an exploratory blockchain group that reports directly to the company’s CTO, Mike Schroepfer.
Jun. 29, 2018
In 2016, a group of self-described hackers started releasing a steady stream of code stolen from the NSA. As well as dumping some hacking tools publicly, such as exploits that were later incorporated into the crippling WannaCry ransomware attack, the so-called Shadow Brokers also listed more tools on a dedicated online shop and a “monthly dump service” to access additional code. A team of University College London (UCL) researchers recently found likely evidence of payments for those alleged exploits by examining transactions in Zcash, a privacy-focused cryptocurrency that the Shadow Brokers asked potential customers to use, and traced the movement of some of the coins to a specific cryptocurrency exchange.
Jun. 15, 2018
Are bitcoin and ether securities? Finally, one of the biggest questions and debates in crypto has been answered by the SEC, officially. In an announcement at Yahoo Finance’s All Market Summit: Crypto in San Francisco on Thursday,the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Director of Corporate Finance William Hinman said that the commission would not be classifying ether or bitcoin as securities.
The commission’s policy is in line with what SEC Chair Jay Clayton said recently about bitcoin: that cryptocurrencies are not securities and the definition of “security” would not change to include bitcoin. (Clayton said digital tokens were securities, but cryptocurrencies were not.) Hinman’s announcement marks the official position of the SEC: the name isn’t important, but the way in which it’s sold, promised, and behaves is the key deciding factor.
Jun. 15, 2018
Seventeen malicious Docker containers earned cryptomining criminals $90,000 in 30 days in what could be a harbinger of things to come. The figure may seem tame compared to some of the larger paydays that cryptojackers have earned. But, researchers at Kromtech Security Center warn containers are shaping up to be the next ripe target for these types of criminals.
Kromtech said the malicious Docker images (17 in total) were pulled down from the Docker Hub image repository. Researchers can’t say for sure how many times the rogue containers were used by Docker Hub users, but Kromtech estimates that the 17 images were downloaded collectively 5 million times during the year they were available. All 17 were removed from Docker Hub on May 10 by Docker, afterFortinetfound the containers and published a report on the images being used to mine cryptocurrency.
Jun. 13, 2018
Apple has updated its review guidelines to specifically prohibit iOS and Mac apps uploaded on the company’s official App Store from utilizing users’ devices for cryptocurrency mining operations. The ban applies for apps designed explicitly with mining operations in mind. Other cryptocurrency-related functions, like managing or trading cryptocoin funds, are still permitted.
Two sections have been updated in the new App Store Review Guidelines —section 2.4.2 (Hardware Compatibility) and 3.1.5 (b) (ii) (Cryptocurrencies). Apple updated its App Store review guidelines last week, during the WWDC 2018 conference. The company took this step after hidden cryptocurrency mining has become the most popular cybercrime trend among malware developers this past year.
May. 28, 2018
Cryptocurrency trading app Taylorsuffered a catastrophic hack on May 22 that resulted in the loss of over 2,500 ETH, valued at $1.5 million. In addition, the trading platform lost 7% of the total TAY token supply, potentially crippling the development of the trading software. According to the official statement, the only tokens that remain in the Taylor fund are those in the Founders’ and Advisors’ pools that are held in aninaccessible vesting contract.
May. 28, 2018
The Floating Island Project plans to create off-shore housing that uses its own currency and operates outside of government regulations. The project is a pilot program in partnership with the government of French Polynesia. A long-term vision for the project is hundreds of new countries floating on the ocean.
The Floating Island Project plans to create off-shore housing that uses its own currency and operates outside of government regulations. The project is a pilot program in partnership with the government of French Polynesia. The project is funded through philanthropic donations via the Seasteading Institute and Blue Frontiers, which sells tokens of the cryptocurrency Varyon.
May. 28, 2018
If you have been in crypto for more than two minutes, you know one simple fact: Coin prices are really volatile. And that volatility isn’t just tough on investors. It’s also tough on those who provide services to crypto startups in exchange for tokens — and for the crypto startups themselves, who are having to run a business with an ever-changing budget.
Given the growth of the crypto sector in the past year, significantly increased interest by institutional investors and the high volatility of many assets, the concept of stablecoins has seen quite a bit of interest. As the name implies, stablecoins are crypto-assets that seek to hold a consistent value vis-a-vis another currency. There is a lot of great material out there on the topic.
May. 28, 2018
Public hearings for rural electric utilities are rarely sellout events. But the crowd that showed up in Wenatchee two weeks ago for a hearing about Bitcoin mining in Chelan County was so large that utility staff had to open a second room with a video feed for the overflow. As a result, an area famous for apples, wheat and conservative politics has been transformed into a kind of cyber-boomtown, with Bitcoin mining operations that range from large-scale, state-of-the-art warehouses to repurposed cargo containers to backyard sheds.
May. 24, 2018
A malicious miner successfully executed a double spend attack on the Bitcoin Gold network last week, making BTG at least the third altcoin to succumb to a network attack during that timespan. Bitcoin Gold director of communications Edward Iskra first warned users about the attack on May 18, explaining that a malicious miner was using the exploit to steal funds from cryptocurrency exchanges. To execute the attack, the miner acquired at least 51 percent of the network’s total hashpower, which provided them with temporary control of the blockchain.
May. 22, 2018
Cryptocurrency enthusiasts are keen on telling ordinary civilians how safe and secure the Blockchain protocols powering their favorite coins are. Indeed, major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum have maintained their security quite well—better, arguably, than any other digital asset/payment system in history—which is pretty remarkable, considering that they are unbacked digital money free from any single party’s control with an effective multi-billion dollar bounty on their proverbial heads. Last month, an as-of-yet unidentified attacker was able to severally compromise Verge, a relatively small, privacy-focused cryptocurrency.
May. 21, 2018
In November 2017, a pseudonymous actor exploited a vulnerability in Parity’s multi-signature Ethereum wallet library that rendered half a million ether inaccessible to their owners. Ironically, the culprit, Devops199, was trying to patch another vulnerability that allowed hackers to steal $32 million from Parity’s multi-signature wallet accounts back in July of 2017. While tinkering with the popular service’s smart contracts, Devops199 blundered his way into complete ownership of the library that houses the entirety of Parity’s multi-signature wallet accounts.
May. 18, 2018
For hobbyists trying to strike it rich with cryptocurrency mining, but who don’t have access to gigantic warehouses where they can park the hardware, making money means packing a bunch of very loud and very hot computers into your house or apartment. Some at-home cryptocurrency miners are harnessing the heat that powerful mining equipment—called ASICs—give off. Motherboard’s Daniel Oberhaus used mining equipment (albeit graphics cards, not ASICs) to stay warm during a storm once, and a Redditor posting under the handle “gta3uzi” just took it to another level.
May. 18, 2018
A new form of cryptominer has been discovered which crashes systems the moment antivirus products attempt to remove the malware. The malware, dubbed WinstarNssmMiner by 360 Total Security researchers, has been used in half a million attempted attacks leveraged at PCs in only three days. On Wednesday, the cybersecurity firm said the cryptomining malware aims to infect PCs in order to steal processing power for the purpose of mining the Monero cryptocurrency.
May. 14, 2018
Ethereum developers have long known that scaling the network is a subject worth discussion and investment. The matter did not quite spill out from the developer community, however, until late 2017, when a decentralized application (dApp) named CryptoKitties attracted so much traffic it began slowing down the network. On top of network latency, the price of gas—the fee required to run each operation within a contract on the Ethereum blockchain—soared as users competed for their transactions to be validated.
May. 13, 2018
German Radoslav Albrecht has founded an online bank that allows clients to transfer loans anywhere in the world using Bitcoin. Bitbond uses cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to bypass the Swift international transfer system to lend money across the globe rapidly and at low cost. Clients hold the loans in digital tokens like Bitcoin only for seconds or minutes until they are exchanged back into the currency of the country where they wish to receive the funds, avoiding the crypto currencies fluctuating exchange rates.
May. 9, 2018
It is now proven that Electrum Pro steals wallet seeds on creation. Meaning that any coins stored in a wallet created with this tool are accessible to anyone with access to electrum(dot)com. If you mistakenly used this wallet, you should move your coins to a secure wallet as soon as possible.
The proof given is a step by step guide to decompiling the python based binary. The proof claims that within the binary, where the seeds are created, an additional step exists which uploads the seed to electrum(dot)com. The official website for the Electrum wallet is electrum.org, which we can be sure of due to its link on the external site bitcoin.org.
May. 9, 2018
Whether it be Saga, SwissRealCoin, Havven, or a dozen other candidates, cryptocurrencies that are backed by real assets to help reduce volatility are becoming increasingly popular. Enter TrueUSD, which not only has a stablecoin, but has been putting it into action since launch. The result?
After less than two months on the market, TrustToken — a platform that securitizes real-world assets and currencies using blockchains — has announced that its TUSD stablecoin has organically amassed over $12 million in circulation. Stablecoins allows cryptocurrency traders to put their money into a non-volatile cryptocurrency. This gives them the benefits of an efficient store of value and cost-effective trading without the need to move cryptocurrency into and out of USD.
May. 9, 2018
CryptoKitties took off with its cute blockchain-based collectible kittens last fall. Now, it is bringing sports celebrities into mix, starting with collectibles from Golden State Warriors’ star basketball player Stephen Curry. The first-ever celebrity-branded CryptoKitty will go up for auction today.
CryptoKitties became a sensation after it debuted in November as a collectible game built on top of a blockchain and the Ethereum cryptocurrency. In March, the CryptoKitties maker, Axiom Zen game studio, spun out as a separate company and raised $12 million in funding from Andreessen Horowitz and Union Square Ventures. The Curry kitties will probably draw a lot of attention.