Ransomware gives way to miners as cyber criminals follow the money
Cyber criminals have started using sophisticated infection methods and techniques borrowed from targeted attacks in order to install mining software on attacked PCs within organizations says Kaspersky Lab.
Some 2.7 million users have been attacked by malicious miners in 2017, according to Kaspersky's data. That's around 50 percent higher than in 2016 (1.87 million). But at the same time ransomware attacks have seen a decline.
Tesla hack demonstrates need to prioritize data security
The words "data security" made news once again last month when researchers revealed that Tesla’s AWS cloud systems were compromised for the purpose of cryptojacking. Cryptojacking, which is defined as the secret use of a computing device to mine cryptocurrency, has risen in popularity over the past few months. This is primarily due to 1) the surge in cryptocurrency value and 2) the discovery of clever mechanisms hackers can use to mine coins while going unnoticed.
According to RedLock researchers, the hackers infiltrated Tesla’s Kubernetes console, which is an open-source platform used for managing containerized workloads and services. They were able to access the console because it was not password protected. Within the Kubernetes pod, were Tesla AWS environment credentials which contained an Amazon S3 bucket that had sensitive data such as telemetry, mapping and vehicle servicing data.
Should Amazon create its own cryptocurrency and banking products?
Amazon is a company that isn’t afraid to take risks, and try new things. Some of its ideas -- like the Echo -- paid off handsomely, while other gambles, like the Amazon Fire Phone, failed miserably.
Amazon is also happy to splash the cash to expand its reach, buying Whole Foods in 2017, and Ring this week. But where can Amazon go next? LendEDU ran a poll of 1,000 American consumers who had purchased something from Amazon in the last 30 days, and asked them whether they’d be interested in using an Amazon-created cryptocurrency for purchases, or banking with the retail giant. The results may surprise you.
Supposed inventor of Bitcoin sued for $10 billion
The self-proclaimed creator of Bitcoin, Craig Wright from Australia, has been hit by a $10 billion lawsuit. The family of his former business partner is suing Wright for allegedly stealing Bitcoins and intellectual property.
The pseudonym of the inventor of Bitcoin is Satoshi Nakamoto, but his true identity has never been confirmed -- but this is who Wright claims to be. The lawsuit accuses him of stealing Bitcoins from collaborator Dave Kleiman who died in 2013. It aims to get back these coins from the early days of mining, as well as the intellectual property of the business -- W&K Info Defense Research -- Wright and Kleiman set up together.
Coinbase is about to give the IRS details of 13,000 users
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has contacted 13,000 of its users to inform them that it is going to hand over their details to the IRS. The tax collection agency originally asked for the details of everyone buying Bitcoin between 2013 and 2015 in a bid to weed out tax evaders.
Coinbase did not give in without a fight. Since the summons in November 2016, it put up some resistance, ultimately reducing the number of affected customers from 500,000 to 13,000. The exchange will be handing over the details within three weeks.
The European Union says it is ready to regulate cryptocurrencies
The head of the EU's financial services has said that the union is ready to regulate cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin if a global effort is not made to tackle their risks.
Valdis Dombrovskis said that worldwide measures were needed if European regulation was to be avoided. There has long been concern not just about the wildly fluctuating value of cryptocurrencies, but also the potential for them to be used in crime.
Bitcoin targeting $10,000 again, major cryptos post solid gains
The cryptocurrency market seems to have recovered after a massive correction took it below $280 billion earlier this month. That valuation brought the scene back to mid-November levels, with all the majors posting significant losses as a result. However, things have changed rather quickly, as, today, the market is getting closer to breaking $480 billion.
Bitcoin looks to be spearheading the push, as it's testing the $10,000 level, having the third-largest daily increase of the top 10 players at 8.9 percent. Litecoin is the best performer, by far, with gains of 19.5 percent, followed by IOTA with 9.1 percent. In the days following the crash, Litecoin consistently posted solid gains.
Cryptomining malware tops January's 'most wanted' list
Malware seeking to steal processor time for crypto currency mining continues to be a problem, with 23 percent of organizations globally affected by a Coinhive variant in January.
These findings come from a study by Check Point which discovered three different variants of cryptomining malware in its top 10 most prevalent listing, with Coinhive ranking first.
Government websites in US, UK and Australia hacked to run secret cryptocurrency miner
Thousands of government websites around the world have been hijacked to mine the cryptocurrency Monero. A commonly-used accessibility script was hacked to inject the Coinhive miner into official sites in the US, UK and Australia. One security researcher described it as the biggest attack of its type that he'd seen.
In the UK, websites for the NHS and Information Commissioner's Office were affected; in the US, the United States Courts' site was hit; in Australia, government sites including that of the Victorian parliament were hit by the cryptojacking code. What all of the sites had in common was the fact that they included the text-to-speech accessibility script Browsealoud from Texthelp.
How many websites have crypto miners?
With cryptocurrencies reaching super high valuations, it should not come as a surprise that some websites use their visitors' processing power for mining. Question is, just how many do that?
According to a new report from security firm 360Netlab, that's 0.2 percent of websites. What's interesting is that porn sites account for nearly half of them at 49 percent. Other types of websites don't even come close.
Crypto market rebounds after massive crash -- Bitcoin recovers above $8,000
If there's one thing that the cryptocurrency market is not lacking, excitement is definitely it. You can't get bored looking at the crazy swings in price. One day, you are looking at Bitcoin inching closer to $20,000 and, a few weeks later, you are wondering whether it will recover above $7,000. It's fun.
I am sure many investors would have a problem with my definition of fun in the crypto scene, but I can't help but feel amused. Prices fluctuate all the time, crashes happen frequently, rebounds are amazing, it's just how things are. Now, after a sudden move into sub-$300 billion territory, the market is getting close to stabilizing above the $400 billion mark.
Lloyd's Banking Group bans Bitcoin payments via credit card
It has been something of a rocky ride for cryptocurrencies recently, and none more so than Bitcoin. Now Lloyd's Banking Group has announced a ban on purchasing cryptocurrencies using credit cards in the UK.
The banking group controls Lloyd's Bank, Halifax, MBNA and Bank of Scotland, and the ban has been triggered by the deflation of Bitcoin. In recent months it has spiraled from a high of almost $20,000 to under $8,000.
Despite reports to the contrary, India is not banning Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies
A budget speech given by India's finance minister led to numerous reports that India was banning the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum within the country. While Arun Jaitley noted in a speech that the Indian government does not recognize cryptocurrencies as legal tender, his slightly ambiguous language resulted in something of a misunderstanding.
Now the Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Committee of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has spoken out in an attempt to clarify the issue, and allay fears that Bitcoin et al are on the verge of being banned.
Bitcoin falls under $8,000 -- crypto market down to $360bn
Towards the end of last year, it wasn't unusual for the major players in the cryptocurrency market to rise by double digits on a daily basis. They were reaching absurd levels, which were incredibly hard to justify even by crypto standards. Even though I like the market and understand the merits of some technologies, I dare anyone to explain with a straight face how Dogecoin -- which hasn't been updated in years -- and its ilk skyrocketed in valuation.
The market has seen some massive pullback in 2017, right after it peaked at over $830 billion. This should not surprise anyone who's keeping an eye on the crypto scene, but it does give the so-called "traditional media," which seems clueless when it comes to reporting about this industry, reason to talk about these things like it's the end of the world. Every. Single. Day.
Cyber criminals in 'gold rush' to exploit cryptocurrencies
A new report from risk management and threat intelligence company Digital Shadows shows that cyber criminals are looking to exploit the boom in interest and adoption of cryptocurrencies.
The study highlights the most common methods used by these criminal actors, which include crypto jacking, account takeovers, mining fraud and scams against initial coin offerings (ICOs).
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