Cryptocurrency

Anyone who has dabbled in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies knows that the wallet process for storing and using coins can be a bit of a pain.

Wallet users are often forced to use long private keys and mnemonic phrases to back up their crypto-assets, with most wallet apps asking users to print their private keys and mnemonic phrases onto a piece of paper, something which can easily be lost or stolen.

Google has issued an update to its Play Store policies banning cryptocurrency mining apps.

A new addition to the Developer Policy Center now explicitly states: "We don't allow apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices. We permit apps that remotely manage the mining of cryptocurrency". Google has also introduced a number of other restrictions including a ban on apps that allow for the sale of firearms.

Binance -- the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world -- temporarily halted all trading after it detected "irregular trading on some APIs".

As a precautionary measure, the exchange removed all existing API keys and asked users to re-create theirs from their accounts. The measure meant a suspension of trading, withdrawals and other account activity. The matter is related to the Bitcoin fork Syscoin which halted deposits and withdrawals, but Binance stressed that there had not been as hack and that its blockchain is safe.

A new report from McAfee Labs has seen coin mining malware grow by 629 percent in the first quarter 2018 as criminals seek to cash in on cryptocurrency trends.

On average the company has seen five new threat samples every second, including growth in cryptojacking and other cryptocurrency mining malware, and notable campaigns demonstrating a deliberate drive to technically improve on the most sophisticated, established attacks of 2017.

There has been a spate of bans on cryptocurrency ads in recent months, but Facebook has had something of a change of heart and has decided that some such ads are permissible on its platform.

It is important to note that this is just a relaxation of the ban Facebook introduced back in January, not a complete lifting of it. There are various caveats here, including the fact that advertisers will have to be "pre-approved".

Every month there are fresh cryptocurrencies springing up, but new research by Positive.com has discovered an average of five separate vulnerabilities in each initial coin offering (ICO) project examined in 2017.

What's more, 47 percent of the ICO vulnerabilities uncovered were medium to high severity. Just one vulnerability is enough for attackers to steal investors' money and do irreparable damage to corporate reputation.

Cryptojacking might not be as terrifying a threat as ransomware, but it’s a major annoyance that’s becoming more and more prevalent. If you’re not familiar, the attack essentially uses other people’s systems to mine cryptocurrency, usually without their consent.

When a cryptocurrency miner is running, your system will experience slowdowns and maybe crashes. The miner will eat up system resources, interfering with tasks like streaming video.

Cryptocurrency mining malware has become a serious problem recently, and it seems the latest people to fall victim to the threat are users of the Android emulator Andy OS -- also referred to as AndY and Andyroid.

The emulator makes it possible to run Android software within Windows or macOS, but it appears that the installation harbors a dark secret -- a GPU miner trojan that secretly mines for Bitcoin. Over on Reddit there are large numbers of upset users trying to find out what's going on.

Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world, so when it announces plans to support a new player the news is bound to have a major impact on the market. The result is always the same: a massive buying spree, which can lead to coins posting double-digit gains in a matter of hours.

This was also the case for Ethereum Classic, which will be listed on Coinbase in the coming months. The exchange says that it will be included first on Coinbase Custody, which is where customers will be able to make deposits and withdrawals.

Apple has updated its developer guidelines, making it clear that apps that overtly or covertly mine for cryptocurrencies are simply not welcome in the App Store.

The clamp down covers iOS devices, and it has only recently been introduced. The ban means that iPhones and iPads cannot be used to mine for cryptocurrencies, unless the processing is carried out in the cloud. It's not clear how big a problem mining apps have been, and iOS hardware would seem rather underpowered for the task.

Currency miners continue to top the malware charts according to Check Point Software's latest Global Threat Index.

May 2018 marks the fifth consecutive month where cryptomining malware has dominated Check Point's index. The Coinhive cryptominer impacted 22 percent of organizations globally during May -- up from 16 percent in April, an increase of nearly 50 percent.

Cybercriminals are increasingly using the dark web to facilitate cryptocurrency theft on a large scale, according to cybersecurity company Carbon Black.

The company’s research has uncovered a total of $1.1 billion in cryptocurrency-related thefts during the past six months and finds there are currently an estimated 12,000 dark web marketplaces selling approximately 34,000 offerings related to crypto theft.

Serverless computing is increasingly popular as it allows developers to upload code for functions to the cloud rather than run it on local servers.

But specialist in serverless security PureSec has released a report detailing how hackers can turn a single vulnerable serverless function into a virtual cryptomining farm by taking advantage of the scaleable nature of the architecture.

Threat actors are increasingly looking to exploit the popularity and volatility of cryptocurrency in their attacks on mobile devices according to a new report.

The latest Mobile Threat Landscape report from threat management specialist RiskIQ analyzed 120 mobile app stores and more than two billion daily scanned resources.

While 84 percent of security professionals believe cryptocurrencies are here to stay, most don't see them as a major threat to the enterprise, despite the rise in cryptomining attacks.

A study from network protection specialist Lastline shows 45.2 percent think cryptocurrency is a mainstream alternative to conventional currencies, while 38.9 percent think it's a fringe option. 14.5 percent say they would rather collect their salary in cryptocurrency than in a traditional currency.