OODA Analysis and Briefs

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Analysis

They’ve Got a Thing for The Navy (Update)

A US Navy sailor, Ariel J. Weinmann, is suspected of spying for Israel and has been held in prison for four months, according to an article published Monday in the Saudi daily Al-Watan. It reported that Weinmann is being held at a military base in Virginia on suspicion of espionage and desertion. According to the…
A False Sense of Insecurity?

There is something unseemly about breaking the risk of terrorism down into a numbers game, but when you have to make decisions about finite funds and resources there is no avoiding it. Having said that I think the author (pdf) has done a fine job pointing out both the cold mathematical facts as well as…
Another argument for consolidation

A very readable piece on reform, arguing for more centralization wrt CT issues, in Foreign Policy: Policymakers’ perceptions of intelligence also posed a problem. “There still is widespread misunderstanding of what intelligence is, how it is produced, and in what way it relates to and serves the action and policymaking people,” Smith wrote in his…
Everybody Home, Lights Are Off

The intrepid Siobhan Gorman strikes again: The National Security Agency is running out of juice. The demand for electricity to operate its expanding intelligence systems has left the high-tech eavesdropping agency on the verge of exceeding its power supply, the lifeblood of its sprawling 350-acre Fort Meade headquarters, according to current and former intelligence officials.…
What Hope for Oversight?

The process is so shrouded in secrecy that one member of Congress … said he did not even know lawmakers were allowed to read the classified sections of the bills. “How in the world do you expect me to maintain my world-class level of ignorance if I have to waste time fulfilling my responsibilities?“
Unleash the Hounds

Robb: where does he find these things? Open source cooperative efforts are constantly emerging in response to real human need (Katrina and the SE Asian Tsunami are recent extreme examples). Unfortunately, the knowledge and capabilities (the killer combo) aggregated during these efforts disbands after the event recedes into history. There hasn’t been any effort to…
The Good Old Days (Iran)

Ah, the joy of the annual call from the left coast by the fresh faces and open minds looking for insight and wisdom from the cantankerous little swamp-dweller who takes liberties with the language (no, not Yoda). Predictable and somewhat turgid (not their fault, our Uncle makes you write that way) but a sure-fire ticket…
Not Serious: Linguists

CT blog post about language deficiencies at State is a variation on the theme we’ve been hearing for years in the IC and military. Frankly there is no excuse for this at this stage of the game. Even if we’re not serious about understanding others, we ought to be able to more readily communicate with…
Proxy What?

Then: Iran admitted for the first time on Friday that it did indeed supply long-range Zelzal-2 missiles to Hizbullah. and now: Iran will supply Hezbollah with surface-to-air missile systems in the coming months, boosting the guerrillas’ defences against Israeli aircraft, according to a report by specialist magazine Jane’s Defence Weekly . . . So lucky…
Quincy M.D. at War

A great series of articles (only minor quibbles about accuracy) about the growing importance of forensics in law enforcement and intelligence work. We are rapidly approaching the point where using “cyber” as an adjective when describing malicious or offensive activity is becoming superfluous. When street thugs are giving up slinging rock for cloning ATM cards…
The New -INT

Neo-Con-INT, apparently: A report by columnist Sidney Blumenthal in Salon claims that Israel is receiving intelligence from the US’s National Security Agency. Blumenthal claims to be in touch with “a national security official with direct knowledge of the operation” to supply Israel with signals intelligence from American assets to help it monitor armament transfers from…
HLS: Not Serious XVIII

Part of the reason why only a well-compensated glutton for punishment would even consider serving in the cyber security czar position: Industry cyber safety experts were unanimous in praising the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for finally acknowledging the importance of cyber security in the final version of the National Infrastructure Protection Plan (NIPP) released…
Info Sharing (Update)

Pakistan’s claims that it does not have terrorist training camps in its territory is being strongly contested by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, which has told a US court that satellite pictures pointed towards such a camp. In the trial of 23-year-old Pakistani American Hamid Hayat, who has been accused of terrorism-related charges, Defense Intelligence…
(Script) Kiddies, not Killers

Andrew Cochran at the CT Blog reminds us that there is a cyber aspect to the very physical conflict going on in the Middle East. Having tracked this issue for years for Uncle Sam I am struck by the complete lack of progress made on this front by terrorist groups. They have turned the IED…
Army of Reporters

Via InfoWorld: The Craig Newmark-backed online news play may be as secretive as ever but at least it has a name to Google for more info as it comes out: Daylife. Reports said Monday that Jeff Jarvis, in writing about another news site, NewAssignment.Net, said: “Daylife will gather, analyze, organize and create a new, distributed…

Briefs

Sudan Conflict: No Benefit in Talks Without Truce, says al-Burhan

Sudan’s military ruler General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan has said the talks taking place in Saudi Arabia with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) will have no benefit without a ceasefire. He warned that war would spread to the rest of Sudan if a division happens in the capital Khartoum. A Saudi diplomat further states that…
Ukraine War: Russia Launches ‘Biggest’ Kamikaze Drone Attack

Russia has launched a fresh wave of drone and missile strikes in Ukraine. 5 people were injured in Kyiv in the “biggest” kamikaze drone attack so far, as nearly 60 drones had been launched. One person was killed in the attack in the southern Odesa region after eight missiles were fired at targets by Russian…
MSI’s firmware, Intel Boot Guard private keys leaked

Micro-Star International (MSI) announced it was hacked by the ransomware group Money Message on April 7. The computer and hardware retailer quickly advised its customers to only download firmware/BIOS updates from the official MSI website. Money Message claimed to obtain some of MSI’s source code and demanded a ransom of $4 million for its return.…
North Korean-backed APT group Kimsuky evolves reconnaissance capabilities in recent global campaign

SentinelLabs reported that a North Korean APT utilized a new malware component, ReconShark to conduct intelligence collection and espionage operations. The malware targets users through spear-phishing emails, OneDrive download links, and the execution of malicious macros. Kimsuky has historically targeted geopolitical actors worldwide, and recent campaigns have focused on nuclear agendas between China and North…
Western Digital Confirms Customer Data Stolen in Ransomware Attack

Western Digital investigated an April 2 ransomware attack and confirmed its customer database was compromised. Customer names, addresses, phone numbers, passwords, and financial information were among the stolen data. The ransomware group BlackCat, also known as ALPHV and Noberus, has published eight-figure ransom demands to return the stolen data, but Western Digital refutes BlackCat’s claims.…
Why the FTX Collapse Was an Identity Problem

The romance with cryptocurrency is over. After years of growth and investment gains, things came tumbling down with the collapse of the FTX Trading exchange in November 2022. The carnage was palpable. Since then, investors have dumped crypto, the news media has churned out a stream of stories about failed exchanges, and political leaders have demonized…
What Japan Could Teach The U.S.—And The World—About Regulating Crypto

More than a million investors around the world were left stranded when FTX suddenly collapsed in November with an astonishing hole, estimated at $8.7 billion, in its balance sheet. The cryptocurrency exchange and its 130-plus affiliates have been operating in bankruptcy for five months, and a new management team claims to have recovered $7.3 billion…
On-chain Data Suggests Crypto Hacks and DeFi Exploits are on Course to Match Q1 Figures

More than $320 million was lost to bad actors within the crypto space in the first quarter of the year as per data compiled by smart contract security platform CertiK. The figure represented a significant decline from that in the preceding quarter (Q4 2022) and from a similar period in the previous year. The blockchain…
DEUS Finance Stablecoin Hack Leads to $6 Million Loss

DeFi protocol DEUS Finance lost more than $6 million in a hack over the weekend which exploited a vulnerability in the stablecoin DEI, but a large chunk of it has now been recovered. According to blockchain security firm PeckShield, the attack targeted DEUS Finance’s own stablecoin DEI on the networks BNB Smart Chain and Arbitrum.…
Bitcoin slides after network congestion leads Binance to briefly halt withdrawals

Bitcoin fell to start the week, extending losses from a sharp drop over the weekend following reports by one of the biggest crypto exchanges in the world about “congestion” on the Bitcoin network. The price of bitcoin was lower by about 4% at $27,787.05, according to Coin Metrics. It has fallen more than 5% since…
Iran Hid Weapons Among Earthquake Aid to Target U.S. Troops, Leak Says

Iran and its proxies are enabling attacks on U.S. troops in Syria through weapons shipments hidden within humanitarian aid that has flowed into the region after an earthquake killed tens of thousands earlier this year, according to classified U.S. intelligence and an Israeli military official familiar with the matter. A U.S. defense official declines to…
Biden Aide Discusses Yemen Peace with Saudi Arabia’s MBS

The United State’s national security advisor Jake Sullivan has met Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and reviewed what the white house called “significant progress” in Yemen peace efforts. During this trip Sullivan also held joint talks with the crown prince, UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed al-Nahyan and India’s national security adviser…
Leaders of Japan and South Korea Vow to Deepen Ties

The leaders of South Korea and Japan have agreed to press ahead with joint efforts to improve bilateral ties in response to the growing security challenges from North Korea and China. Shuttle diplomacy between two key U.S. allies is back on track after regular exchanges between the countries’ leaders ended in 2011 over historical differences.…
ChatGPT and the new AI are wreaking havoc on cybersecurity in exciting and frightening ways

This article highlights the risks that AI technology poses to cybersecurity, particularly in terms of chatbots and language processing programs like GPT-3. As AI technologies become more sophisticated, they are being used by cybercriminals to create more convincing phishing emails and scam messages. For example, AI-powered chatbots can engage in conversation with unsuspecting victims, making…
Five Years After Trump’s Exit, No Return to the Iran Nuclear Deal

Five years ago, President Trump signed an executive order for a unilateral withdrawal from a nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which the United States had signed in 2015 with Iran and other world powers. Trump had argued that the deal was not doing enough to keep Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.…
1 Million Impacted by Data Breach at NextGen Healthcare

A data breach at NextGen Healthcare, a US-based software and services company, has impacted over 1 million patients. The breach occurred after an unauthorized user accessed an employee’s email account, which contained patient data such as names, dates of birth, contact information, and health insurance data. The company stated that the breach did not involve…
Your voice could be your biggest vulnerability

Cybersecurity experts have issued a warning about an AI voice scam that involves scammers using AI voice synthesis to generate a voice that mimics the voice of the target’s loved ones to trick the victim into sending them money. According to a report, this type of scam is becoming increasingly common. In fact, a survey…
Ransomware Group Claims Attack on Constellation Software

Canadian software company, Constellation Software, has been attacked by ransomware group Conti. The group claimed to have stolen data from the company’s network before encrypting files and demanded ransom payments from the company. The specific amount of ransom demanded by the attackers was not disclosed. Constellation Software has implemented its incident response plan and is…
Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre’s Twitter Hacked: Red Carpet Welcome Or Nightmare Debut?

Daniel Alegre‘s account tweeted out a malicious mint link yesterday. The tweet read, “It’s almost time to enter the Otherside. Start your journey at [malicious link] before the portal closes.” Eventually, Twitter was able to reclaim control of the account and delete the post, but the damage had already been done. Twitter users immediately responded…
Feet Labs’ Discord Server Breach Detected

The Discord server of Feet Labs has been compromised, according to the latest reports. The warning was shared by CertiK Alert, a platform that shares on-time alerts regarding crypto scams and hacks. CertiK Alert has warned users to stay vigilant. They also told the users to avoid interacting with any message or announcement from Feet Labs.…
Reports of Web3 and DeFi hacks surge during Q1 2023

Analysis from Naoris Protocol, a global cyber security firm, reveals there was a rise in the number of reported cyber security hacks on Web3 and DeFi in Q1 2023 compared to the same period in 2022 and 2021 – with 19 reported hacks. This is up from 16 reported hacks in Q1 2022 and 10 reported…
New York AG’s office seeks additional authority over crypto firms

Letitia James has reportedly proposed legislation that would give the New York Attorney General’s office more authority to regulate the crypto industry. In a May 5 announcement, the NY AG’s office planned to submit a bill called the Crypto Regulation, Protection, Transparency and Oversight Act, or CRPTO, in the state’s 2023 legislative session. The proposed legislation…
How AI and cryptocurrency can work together to realise Web3’s potential

Generative AI has been making headlines in the past few months with impressive breakthroughs and applications, such as AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT and image generators Stable Diffusion and Midjourney. While generative AI is attracting much attention from the public and investment from the tech industry, cryptocurrency is losing its momentum and appeal. Some venture capital investors…
‘An imminent catastrophe’: Healthcare disaster looms in Darfur

A healthcare disaster is looming in the Darfur region of Sudan, with millions of people facing imminent catastrophe due to a lack of medical supplies and the spread of disease. The Darfur region has been plagued by conflict for years, leading to a severe shortage of medical staff and essential equipment. According to the United…
Yevgeny Prigozhin: Wagner Group boss says he will pull troops out of Bakhmut

Yevgeny Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner Group, a Russian private military company, has announced that his troops will withdraw from the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut by Wednesday, May 10, 2023, due to ammunition shortages. In recent months, the Russian government has been trying to capture the city, despite its questionable strategic value. Prigozhin posted…
Fortinet Patches High-Severity Vulnerabilities in FortiADC, FortiOS

Fortinet has released security updates to patch multiple high-severity vulnerabilities affecting its FortiADC application delivery controller and FortiOS cybersecurity operating system. The vulnerabilities can allow unauthenticated remote attackers to execute arbitrary code, bypass authentication, or cause a denial-of-service (DoS) condition. One of the critical flaws tracked as CVE-2021-32589 is a command injection vulnerability in FortiADC…
Critical Siemens RTU Vulnerability Could Allow Hackers to Destabilize Power Grid

Siemens has released a security advisory warning about a critical vulnerability in its SIMATIC RTU (Remote Terminal Unit) products, which are used in industrial control systems (ICS) to monitor and control processes in critical infrastructure sectors such as energy, water, and transportation. The vulnerability could allow attackers to carry out denial-of-service attacks, disrupting the communication…
First Insider Trading Case Involving Digital Assets Comes to Light as Ex-OpenSea Manager Found Guilty

A former product manager at the OpenSea NFT marketplace was found guilty of fraud and money laundering in connection with insider trading on May 3. Nathaniel Chastain allegedly used insider information about the assets that would appear on OpenSea’s home page to make purchase decisions. According to the report, the accused purchased non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and…
WallStreetBets mod dumps memecoin worth $635K in alleged rug pull

A moderator of the popular trading subreddit r/WallStreetBets has dumped a large portion of the WSB Coin (WSB), a token project that claims to be the official memecoin of Wall Street Bets. On May 2, WSB was launched by people involved in moderating the WallStreetBets Reddit forum. The subreddit gained notoriety for the GameStop short squeeze,…
How Cryptocurrency Will Impact the Future of Money as We Know It

The creation of cryptocurrency has brought a revolution to the financial market. Without any physical equivalent, a huge infrastructure was created in which billions of dollars were invested. Of course, it doesn’t end there. Digital currencies will take their place in economic history more than once. There are severe preconditions for that, but they also have…
Increased Cryptocurrency Enforcement

One of the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchanges, the famous, or infamous FTX Trading Ltd (FTX) filed for bankruptcy in 2022. Shortly thereafter, U.S. regulators, in particular the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as well as the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) brought to light their investigations of FTX’s relationship with its sister entity Alameda…
Meta Uncovers Massive Social Media Cyber Espionage Operations Across South Asia

Three different malign actors utilized hundreds of fictitious Facebook and Instagram accounts to target individuals in South Asia. Meta noted each APT relied on social manipulation to trick users into clicking on malicious links or sharing personal information. Relying on social engineering indicated the actors did not invest in malware capability. The fake accounts pretended…
Meta Swiftly Neutralizes New ‘NodeStealer’ Malware

Meta announced it disrupted a new malware family called NodeStealer within weeks of its emergence. The malware was designed to grab cookies and usernames from browsers and compromise online accounts. Disguised as PDF and XLSX files, NodeStealer is likely of Vietnamese origin. Meta explained it contacted various third parties which were targeted by the bad…
Russia says Ukraine tried to kill Putin with night-time drone attack on Kremlin

Videos posted to a Telegram channel with links to Russian law enforcement showed two drones flying toward the Kremlin Senate building on Wednesday. One drone was prematurely destroyed while the second exploded over the Kremlin, leaving firey remains on the outside of the dome. Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with the goal of…
Iran seizes second oil tanker in a week in Gulf, US Navy says

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) seized a Panama-flagged oil tanker “Niovi” while it passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran seized another Marshall Islands-flagged oil tanker “Advantage Sweet” in the Gulf of Oman last Thursday. Maritime security firm Ambrey noted the first tanker seizure came after the United States recently seized Iranian oil cargo…
What is the wash-sale rule, and does it apply to crypto?

Investors cannot claim a tax loss on the sale of a security if they buy a “substantially identical” security within 30 days before or after the sale, as per the wash-sale rule, a tax regulation. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in the United States established the wash-sale rule, which restricts investors from deducting a tax loss…
UK Targets Crypto Fraud to Reduce $9B in Annual Losses

The U.K. government has announced plans to crack down on crypto and insurance fraud which is costing the country $9 billion annually. The government has banned cold calling for crypto investments and insurance. The United Kingdom government will employ 400 specialist staff and use new technology to detect the impersonation of legitimate U.K. phone numbers. As…
Five Security Tips for Crypto Investors: You Can’t Afford Not to Take Precautions

Fraud was involved in approximately 40 percent of all cryptocurrency-related complaints according to a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) analysis published this past fall. And in an unfortunate trend, fraud represented more than 60 percent of CFPB-reported crypto complaints in September 2022 alone, the last month on record. Given this escalation, crypto investors must educate…
The Path Forward For Cryptocurrency

My own basic views on cryptocurrencies to this point have been the following. The advent of the blockchain and the supported cryptocurrency systems are almost undoubtedly transformative. The fact that cryptocurrencies have experienced two successive major asset price bubbles first in 2017 and again 2021 is evidence of meaningful future potential in the same way…
US, Ukraine Shut Down Cryptocurrency Exchanges Used by Cybercriminals

Authorities in the United States and Ukraine have shut down nine websites that had been offering cryptocurrency exchange services to cybercriminals. he takedowns are the result of cooperation between the FBI, its Virtual Currency Response Team (VCRT) team, the National Police of Ukraine, and Ukraine’s Prosecutor General. The targeted domains, which now display a message informing…
Sudan’s Warring Generals Agree to Weeklong Truce, Says South Sudan

The two rival generals in Sudan have agreed to a seven-day truce starting on Thursday, according to the foreign ministry of South Sudan. The United Nations has been pressing for peace talks. The deputy spokesperson for the U.N. secretary general said they welcome a meaningful truce, but first want to see whether it is accepted…
Russia’s Defense Minister Urges Faster Weapons Deliveries, Suggesting Stockpiles Are Depleted

On Tuesday, Russia’s defense minister called quickly for doubling Russian production of guided missiles and speeding up the replenishment for other weapons needed for the war in Ukraine. This is the latest remark that suggests the Russian army industry is struggling to keep up with the demands of the war. Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/live/2023/05/02/world/russia-ukraine-news
China ‘Innovated’ Its Cyberattack Tradecraft, Mandia Says

Last year more than a dozen Fortinet FortiGate firewalls crashed and failed to properly reboot at a defense industry organization. This was the first sign that intruders had deeply infiltrated the company’s network. The attackers, who are a lesser-known cyber-espionage hacking team out of China, appeared to have misfired causing the firewall failure, which was…
Three-Quarters of Firms Predict Breach in Coming Year

Most global organizations anticipate suffering a data breach or cyber attack in the next 12 months. Respondents pointed to both negligent insiders and mobile users, and a lack of trained staff, as key causes of concern going forward. “As the shift to hybrid working gathers momentum, organizations are rightly concerned about the risk posed by…
Gaza truce holds as Palestinians protest death of hunger striker

Palestinian Islamic Jihad has announced a truce in the Gaza Strip after an exchanging of fire with Israel after hunger striker Adnan Khader died in Israeli custody. Mediators from Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations intervened to broker the truce from 4am local time. The Israeli army announced a return to routine on Wednesday in…
Western countries pile pressure on Mali over Wagner presence

Western countries raised concerns over the Russian private military contractor Wagner Group’s activities in Mali at a United Nations human rights meeting on Tuesday. Among the activities of concern is an alleged role in the killings of civilians. The United States, Canada, Ukraine and Great Britain were some of the countries that questioned the support…
Coinbase International Exchange launches amid SEC crypto crackdown in the US

As the cryptocurrency industry faces regulatory challenges in the United States, public crypto exchange Coinbase is moving forward with a global derivatives platform. On May 2, Coinbase announced the launch of the Coinbase International Exchange (CIE), a new institutional platform designed for crypto derivatives trading. The CIE will start trading by listing Bitcoin and Ether perpetual…
Cryptocurrency in the Workplace: An Innovative and Cost-Effective Benefits Strategy

The rise of cryptocurrencies has sparked a new trend in employee compensation. Businesses across the world are beginning to offer their workers the option to receive payment in Bitcoin, Ethereum and other digital currencies. The idea of cryptocurrency as a part of a benefits package is straightforward: in addition to fiat currency, an organization pays…
Decentralized Perpetual Market Level Finance Hacked for $1.1M

Level Finance, a BNB Chain-based decentralized and non-custodial perpetual market, suffered a hack on May 2. The attacker managed to steal $1.1 million in LVL tokens. The DeFi market has been hit with yet another attack, with BNB Chain-based decentralized and non-custodial perpetual market Level Finance the next victim. The team announced on Twitter on…
Biden proposes 30% climate change tax on cryptocurrency mining

The White House is trying to persuade Congress to pass a 30% tax on the electricity used in cryptocurrency mining in the next federal budget in order to minimize the nascent industry’s impact on climate change. “Cryptominers’ high-energy consumption has negative spillovers on the environment, quality of life, and electricity grids where these firms locate across…
Eurozone inflation rises to 7 percent after months of decline

Annual inflation in the eurozone rose to 7 percent in April according to the European Union’s statistics agency. This is the first increase after five consecutive months of declines. Customer prices edged up from 6.9 percent in March, which could cause the European Central Bank to raise interest rates on Thursday. Analysts at FactSet and…
Civilians facing ‘catastrophe’ as 100,000 flee fighting

Over 100,000 people have fled Sudan since fighting broke out on April 15 according to the UN. Officials have warned of a full catastrophe if the fighting does not end. An additional 334,000 people have been displaced within Sudan. Fighting is continuing in the capital, Khartoum, between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces,…
Islamic State leader killed in Syria by Turkish intelligence services, Erdogan says

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan announced an intelligence operation killed Islamic State (IS) chief Abu Hussein al-Qurashi on Sunday. The raid occurred in Jandaris, a Syrian border town controlled by Turkish-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA). IS chose al-Qurashi to lead the organization after its previous head was killed by Turkish forces in November 2022. IS has…
Organizations are boosting resilience, getting faster at incident response

A recent study from BakerHostetler found that data security incidents in 2022 matched the number of cases in 2021, and ransomware attacks were less frequent in 2022 until a late-year surge. The average ransom demand was $3.7 million in 2022, while the actual average payout was just over $600,000. This displays an overall increase of…
APT41’s PowerShell Backdoor Let Hackers Download & Upload Files From Windows

Threatmon researchers discovered a PowerShell backdoor attack from Chinese cyber espionage group APT41 (aka Wicked Panda). The targeted malware allows the group to execute commands, download and upload files, and collect information on Windows platforms. The group has also utilized custom malware, supply chain attacks, and other software vulnerabilities previously to attack high-profile targets. The…
JPMorgan wins government auction to buy seized First Republic Bank

JPMorgan Chase & Co won the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) auction of the First Republic Bank on Monday. First Republic Bank suffered severe losses after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed in March 2023, and it was finally seized by FDIC when another wave of investors fled last week. JPMorgan agreed to…
April’s crypto scams, exploits and hacks lead to $103M lost

Crypto exploits, exit scams and flash loan attacks saw little signs of letting up in April, with more than $103 million of funds stolen from crypto projects and investors in the month. On April 30, crypto security and auditing firm CertiK posted an April roundup of crypto exploits, scams and hacks, revealing total funds lost…
Hacked Coinbase accounts on sale for as low as $610 on dark web

The rise of cryptocurrency and the increasing popularity of online banking has led to a surge in cybercrime and identity fraud. A recent study by PrivacyAffairs.com shows that an individual’s personal information is valued at $1,010 on the dark web, with hackers targeting online banking logins, credit card details, and social media credentials. Of particular…
Crypto Gears up for Regulatory War While Congress Preps Bill

There is currently a “war” underway between U.S. policymakers and the cryptocurrency industry. That’s according to Blockchain Association CEO Kristin Smith, who said at a conference Friday (April 28) that “we are fighting … we’re going to probably be at war for the next 18 to 20 months.” Meanwhile, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry of…
AI meets blockchain: Revolutionizing smart contracts and cryptocurrency

With the advent of readily available artificial intelligence (AI) applications such as ChatGPT, we are ushering in a new era of rapid improvements in blockchain-based smart contracts. This convergence of innovative technologies will transform industries and pave the way for unprecedented levels of contract development, automation and efficiency. Blockchain’s decentralized ledger technology powering cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin…