Colleagues, the promise of a 13-fold
appreciation in one month lies at the core of the US SEC’s lawsuit against PlexCoin
co-founders Sabrina Paradis-Royer
and Dominic Lacroix. The defendants are charged with an illicit PlexCoin ICO scheme. Although fraudulent ICOs are not a daily occurrence,
they are far too common. Moreover, they represent one more reason why the US SEC – and its
counterparts abroad – are reluctant to classify cryptocurrencies as legitimate
“securities” tradeable on leading stock exchanges. That is why even the most
prominent digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and the like are
confined to crypto only exchanges like BitFinex, Binance and Huobi. Bottom line: We predict that within 24-36
months the US SEC will define and implement a strict framework for regulating
cryptocurrencies and allowing only those assets, which meet the most stringent
requirements bona fide “securities” status. As we continuously stress crypto
investors must perform their due diligence and are urged to stay with proven
currencies traded on legitimate exchanges. Post a comment today! Lawrence – Cryptocurrency
Academy (https://cryptocurrencyacademy.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, Zaif is a
small cryptocurrency exchange based in Japan. Although Zaif on ranks as the 45th
largest exchange based upon daily trading volume by CoinMarketCap, a
crypto theft worth $60m USD is
reason for concern. The exchange processed some $43B per day in
cryptocurrencies. The Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA) is investing this cybercrime and
questioning why Tech Bureau – Zaif’s parent company – waited several days
to report this incident. Bottom line: Whether this was an “inside job” by a
disgruntled Tech Bureau employee or an external cyber-attack is unknown at this
time. What we do know is two-fold. First, Japan is an early adopter and
supporter of cryptocurrencies. Second, there has been a meteoric rise in the
number and value of cybercrimes specifically targeting crypto exchanges during
the past two years. Where possible, we highly recommend that crypto traders and
investors alike perform their due diligence and stay with top tier exchanges
such as BitForex, BitMEX, Binance, OKex and Huobi. Post a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence – Cyber
Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, although the numbers are alarming
they also confirm what many of us assumed to be true. Cyber-attacks focused on
cryptocurrency mining (aka “cryptojacking”) has sky rocketed by some 400% YoY
between 2017 and 2018. As reported by the CTA entitled
“The
Illicit Cryptocurrency Mining Threat” indicates
that EternalBlue,
perhaps the world’s most pervasive cyber-attack in history, targets Microsoft’s
Server Message Block (SMB) protocol via port 445 is the leading
culprit. Researchers suspect that North Korea is the likely source behind EternalBlue’s
root cause – the infamous WannaCry ransomware.
Bottom line: The global crypto ecosystem continues to be the most common target
of cybercrime, which ultimately serves to thwart mass market adoption of
cryptocurrencies. Crypto ecosystem members need closer ties and cooperation
with their cyber security peers in order to mitigate the relentless rise in
cryptojacking is cryptocurrencies are to move to the mainstream. Post a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence – Cyber
Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, the recent Common
Vulnerabilities and Exposures Report (CVE-2018-17144
Full Disclosure) states, “a fix
for which was released on September 18th in Bitcoin Core versions 0.16.3 and
0.17.0rc4, includes both a Denial of Service component and a critical inflation
vulnerability”. A cybercriminal
exploited this bug to create new Bitcoin, which in turn would have deflated
Bitcoin value by increasing the supply of the currency above the 21 million
hard-cap. Matt Corallo, Bitcoin Core developer and Chaincode engineer acknowledged that if this bug has
gone undetected someone could have launched a cyber-attack to print an
unlimited number of BTCs. According to CoinMarketCap, global Bitcoin market capitalization exceeds
$115.6B USD far outpacing Ethereum, which is valued at $24.6 USD. Bottom line: The
world’s most valuable (and popular) cryptocurrency is prone to vulnerabilities
and is subject to cyber crime. This is just one reason why regulators such as
the US SEC question is
legitimacy as a financial “security”. Post a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence – Cyber
Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, according to CoinMarketCap the worldwide market capitalization for digital assets
reached some $760b in December 2017 and currently hoover around $240b. Coindesk
reports that the Japanese market lost $540m due to crypto crime in H1 2018. Globally,
cyber security firm Carbon Black
has confirmed $1.1b worth of cryptocurrencies were stolen in the same time
period. The numbers are alarming, they continue to grow and represent the
single largest threat to the market adoption of cryptocurrencies across the
global economy. Conventional malware, fraudulent ICOs, attacks on crypto
exchanges and crypto jacking which targets mining vendors and pools tops the
list of cybercrime tactics. We offer two basic conclusions: First, it is highly
likely that crypto theft will top $2b around the world in 2018. Second, the
rise in cybercrime
focused on digital assets heightens the concern of government regulators in the
US and abroad that cryptocurrencies should not be categorized as legitimate
“securities”. These factors are major barriers to adoption across the crypto
ecosystem. We do believe that digital assets
will take 2-3 years to cross the chasm from truly speculative investments to
viable securities traded on market stock exchanges … foremost the US NASDAQ. Post a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence – Cyber
Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, the US Texas Securities
Commission has issued cease and desist orders against three offshore entities
suspected of issuing fraudulent cryptocurrency investment schemes. The orders
target Ultimate Assets LLC, DigitalBank Ltd. and Coins Miner Investment Ltd. All three entities purport to represent Coinbase, a prominent U.S. crypto exchange.
The charges stem from crypto and forex trading services, false claims of meeting
with the president of Ripple and soliciting funds
to develop a claimed secure crypto wallet. Bottom line: The global crypto
ecosystem is under siege from cyber criminals on all fronts. The three firms
identified above a just the latest in a long list of bad actors targeting
crypto investors, wallets, exchanges and underlying Blockchain technology. The most
common motive across these nefarious actions is financial gain. We have and
will continue to warn legitimate players in the crypto ecosystem to take major security and human
factors measures to protect their business concerns. Send a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence – Cyber
Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, we have extensively
reported on the dramatic rise in crypto
mining cyber-attacks in 2018 that have plagued the
crypto ecosystem. Enter Fbot. Security researchers are unclear if Fbot is a friend or foe
with regard to crypto mining. However, they have confirmed that Fbot is designed to propagate, scan and install
itself over “com.ufo.miner“ malware which targets vulnerable browser
software. According to NetLab 360, com.ufo.miner has its origins in monero ADB Miner Android-based
software. At first glance, it would appear that Fbot might be a tool of unknown
origin, which can reduce browser vulnerability to cyber-attacks. The key
question is whether Fbot has an ulterior motive – that is to destroy
com.ufo.miner and clear the path for another form of crypto mining malware to
be installed in its place. Share a comment while visiting us today! Lawrence –
Cyber Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, we
all know that the cryptocurrency ecosystem is a high-value target for cyber
criminals worldwide. Nowhere is this more evident than the recent seizure of
some $8.8m USD in cryptocurrencies along with another $14m of tangible assets
from deceased cyber criminals Alexandre Cazes. Operating from Thailand Cazes amassed over 1,600 Bitcoins and another 8,300 Ethereum tokens from his illicit AlphaBay
empire. A US Magistrate ordered this seizure with the aid of Thai officials. AlphaBay is
believed to have its origins in the defunct dark web Silk Road platform. Bottom line: Crypto investors small and large are
reminded that their assets are at from cybercrime and need to maintain the
highest level of security. We recommend once again that investors and traders
alike only engage with established and proven crypto exchanges, wallets,
infrastructure providers and custodian service providers. Cyber criminals are
relentless and crypto investors must be as well. Share your assessment while visiting us today! Lawrence
– Cyber Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, a Mt Gox wallet worth some $720 is the prime suspect in the movement of
up to $720 Bitcoin since the Japanese exchange went out of business in 2014. To
date some $100m has been transferred from this anonymous wallet to the Binance and Bitfinex exchanges. While some experts believe
this infamous wallet is linked to the Dark Web’s Silk Road
portal, most evidence points to the defunct Mt Gox exchange. Two fundamental
questions arise. First, who (or whom) controls this wallet? Second, what is
their motive? Numerous theories are floating across the global cryptosphere.
Nonetheless, given the fact that Mt Gox was founded in 2010 – the very early
days of cryptocurrencies – there is a high likelihood that the funds contained
on this wallet were (and perhaps still are) being used for drug trafficking,
payment for contraband and/or to evade trans-border trade sanctions. Our goal
is to present facts not idle speculation; however, we are confident that the
movement of these funds is due to some form of cybercrime. As such, we will add this topic to our crypto-cyber “watch list”. Share your assessment while visiting us today! Lawrence
– Cyber Security Defender (https://cybersecuritydefender.blogspot.com/)
Colleagues, with the goal of
reducing shipping costs by 20% while increasing the security of imports and
exports, South Korea’s Samsung
Electronics is building a building a distributed
ledger system (DLS) to track international trade. Samsung is partnering
with the Samsung is partnering with Ktnet,
the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries , the Korea Customs Service, Ministry of
Oceans and Fisheries, IBM Korea and Hyundai Merchant Marine. South Korea is
surely an early adopter of cryptocurrency
tokens, exchanges and mining. This initiative represents a major test as the
country seeks to extend Blockchain technology to international trade via a
private-public sector consortium. Simultaneously the Korea Internet and Security Agency
(KISA) intends to increase the number of Blockchain pilot projects in 2018 from
six to twelve. While the financial services sector is the target of most high
profile cybercrime,
international trade and shipping is a “high value” target for opportunistic
cyber criminals. We will report in late 2018 on the implementation of this
project.
