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Cryptocurrency crash triggers crisis for dark web exchanges

The decline in the value of cryptocurrencies has created a cash rush that is pushing many underground exchanges to their breaking point. According to research from security company Cybersixgill, cybercriminals are looking to protect their pilfered funds by moving them from cryptocurrencies to fiat currencies, forcing some prominent underground exchanges toward bankruptcy. Operating on the dark web…
Sri Lanka central bank warns against use of cryptocurrency amid economic crisis

Sri Lanka has warned its citizens against using cryptocurrency, which it said is “largely unregulated” amid an ongoing political chaos in the South Asian nation. The country’s central bank, CBSL, said Tuesday it does not consider cryptocurrencies as legal tender in the country and reminded the country that it has not given license or other authorization…
The toughest challenges for cryptocurrency lie ahead, not in the rear-view mirror

With more than $1 trillion in cryptocurrency value wiped out since the 2021 high-water mark, many investors may be tempted to enter the cryptocurrency orbit at a potentially attractive, lower price point. After all, previous dramatic drawdowns in cryptocurrency valuations have been followed by explosive growth — and all this volatility could be justified as…
Cloud-based Cryptocurrency Miners Targeting GitHub Actions and Azure VMs

GitHub Actions and Azure virtual machines (VMs) are being leveraged for cloud-based cryptocurrency mining, indicating sustained attempts on the part of malicious actors to target cloud resources for illicit purposes. “Attackers can abuse the runners or servers provided by GitHub to run an organization’s pipelines and automation by maliciously downloading and installing their own cryptocurrency…
US Department of Defense Seeks Executive to Lead Defense Innovation Unit

The US Department of Defense is on the hunt for an executive to lead a key organization for helping the department accelerate positive transformation. This position, the head of the Defense Innovation Unit, is a high profile job requiring a leader who can operate across the many organizations in and out of government who either…
Journalists Emerge as Favored Attack Target for APTs

Security researchers at Proofpoint have released a recent advisory that details how state-aligned threat groups have increased the volume of attacks targeting journalists. According to the research, the goal of the attacks is to steal data and credentials, as well as to track the journalists. The targeted phishing attacks can be linked to multiple different…
HavanaCrypt Ransomware Masquerades as a Fake Google Update

The HavanaCrypt ransomware, a new strain, reportedly disguises itself as a Google software update app. Security researchers determined that the ransomware uses a Microsoft web hosting service IP address as its command and control server. This allows the ransomware to circumvent detection. Trend Micro recently released a report about the ransomware, describing how the security…
Thousands escape wildfires in France, Spain and Greece

Over 10,000 people have been forced to leave the Gironde region in the south-west of France in the past few days. Dozens of wildfires are burning in Portugal and Spain where temperatures are above 40C. There have been at least 281 deaths related to the heatwave in the two countries. A few towns in western…
Mass gathering in Iraq a potential sign of a summer of protests

A large gathering of Muqtada al-Sadr supporters for a prayer session in Baghdad on Friday showed that the Shia leader was not ending his large presence in Iraqi politics, even when he removed his bloc from the Iraqi parliament in june. This move of prayer may be the beginning of a summer of protests. Protests…
Sri Lanka swears in Ranil Wickremesinghe as acting leader after mass protests

Sri Lanka’s prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been sworn in as acting president. He is replacing Gotabaya Rajapaksa who has fled to Singapore after mass protests and unrest led to his resignation. Sri Lanka is experiencing shortages of fuel, food and basic necessities and is in economic chaos. Parliament will begin electing a new president…
Italy’s President Mattarella rejects Prime Minister Draghi’s resignation

Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi announced Thursday that he would resign after the largest party in the country’s coalition government withdrew its support in a confidence vote. The measures Draghi was voting on was a package designed to help Italy’s cost-of-living crisis. It passed 172 to 39, however, the loss of the 5-Star movement’s support…
DeFi Exploits Top $1.8B YTD, Though Security ‘Getting Better’ Immunefi Says

Hacks against decentralized finance protocols have increased almost eightfold when compared to the first quarter of last year, according to DeFi bug bounty platform Immunefi. In Q1 of this year alone, over $1.22 billion has been identified as having been stolen or rugged from budding protocols. That’s a 7.9 times increase when compared to some $154.6…
What is a crypto airdrop and how does it work?

For most crypto investors, there is nothing more important than making a return on their investment. Thanks to the volatility, this can be done quickly or it can be a hugely difficult task. That’s why crypto airdrops are an inexpensive way to make additional returns on your portfolio. After all, airdrop tokens are free and…
UN Says Developing Nations Should Ban Bitcoin Ads, Regulate Crypto Wallets

A recently published policy brief from the United Nations recommended developing nations take action against crypto, warning of risks associated with leaving the industry unregulated. In the document titled “All that glitters is not gold,” first published in June, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) stated the disadvantages posed to these nations by…
Is Crypto a Security or Commodity? Look to Congress’ Ethics Rules

The Responsible Financial Innovation Act introduced on Jun 7, 2022 includes a comprehensive regulatory framework for digital assets and seeks to provide clarity in how digital assets, such as cryptocurrencies, are treated under US securities law. The lynchpin of the bill is the codification of the US Supreme Court’s decades-old standard for determining when a…
Cryptocurrency ‘mixers’ see record transactions from sanctioned actors

Use of so-called cryptocurrency “mixers,” which combine various types of assets to mask their origin, peaked at a 30-day average of nearly $52 million worth of digital currency in April, representing an unprecedented volume of funds moving through those services, researchers at cryptocurrency research firm Chainalysis found. A near two-fold increase in funds sent from illicit…
US, Israel to commit to stopping Iran nuclear ambitions

Israeli Prime Minister and United States President are set to sign a join declaration committing to preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. This agreement is expected to be announced after an individual meeting on Thursday morning in West Jerusalem. President Joe Biden is on his second day of his four-day Middle East tour. The declaration…
Deal in sight to end Ukrainian grain blockade – Turkey

According to Turkey, talks hoping to resume Ukrainian grain exports blocked by Russia in the Black Sea have reached a deal. This deal raises hope for an end in the blockade and standoff on the exports that left millions at a risk of starvation. Both sides have agreed on ways to ensure the safety of…
Ukraine’s Cyber Agency Reports Q2 Cyber-Attack Surge

Ukraine has reported an increase in cyberattacks targeting the country’s systems in the second quarter of the year. Ukraine recently released a report from the country’s State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection describing the increase in cyberattacks. Although attacks have been steadily increasing since Russia’s invasion, the rise in the second quarter of…
Large-Scale Phishing Campaign Bypasses MFA

According to researchers at Microsoft, a massive phishing campaign that can steal credentials despite the implementation of multi-factor authentication has already attempted to compromise more than 10,000 organizations. The adversary-in-the-middle style attack means that the attackers can hijack sign in sessions and access victim mailboxes to launch additional attacks against other targets. The campaign has…
These hackers are targeting healthcare records and IT systems with ‘Maui’ ransomware

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and the Department of the Treasury have released a joint alert about the Maui ransomware. The agencies state that the Windows executable maui.exe is designed for attackers to manually select files to be encrypted. According to the agencies, the unknown ransomware has already targeted the…
Snap Will Test Letting Users Showcase NFTs

Snap is considering a plan to let its members use the app to showcase non-fungible tokens (NFTs), joining the ranks of other social media companies using digital collectibles to woo influencers to their platforms. Snap is readying a test feature that would let NFT artists showcase their designs on Snapchat as augmented reality (AR) filters, the…
Buggy ‘Log in With Google’ API Implementation Opens Crypto Wallets to Account Takeover

A cryptocurrency wallet service provider serving more than 2 million users worldwide and managing about $3 billion worth of Bitcoin was found to contain API vulnerabilities tied to how external authentication logins were implemented. The bugs are fixed, but the discovery illustrates the high stakes involved in implementing APIs securely, researchers say — and the difficulties…
Celsius is ‘Deeply Insolvent,’ Alleges Vermont Department of Financial Regulation

Celsius Network, the troubled crypto lender, “is deeply insolvent,” alleged the U.S. state of Vermont’s Department of Financial Regulation (DFR), noting the lender lacks the assets and liquidity to honor its obligations to account holders and other creditors. “Celsius deployed customer assets in a variety of risky and illiquid investments, trading, and lending activities,” the…
Experts Claim Cyber Attacks On Crypto Firms Will Rise, What’s Ahead?

Regarding cryptocurrency cybercrimes and attacks, North Korea is a notable region with increased activities. Many groups are posing high threats through their attack on some crypto protocols. Also, a report in June disclosed that North Korea has 7 million active hackers. Many stolen funds running into millions of dollars have been traced back to the…
Ivory Coast asks Mali to release 49 soldiers arrested in Bamako

Ivory Coast has asked for the release of 49 of its soldiers who have been arrested in Mali. This incident may worsen tensions between Mali’s military rulers and the other West African nations as other nations work to end activity by armed groups linked to al-Qaeda and ISIL and restore democratic rule in Mali. The…
Thousands trapped by fighting in Haitian capital, aid group warns

Thousands of haitians are trapped in Port-au-Prince without food, water or essential supply access according to Médecins Sans Frontiéres. The citizens are trapped by the fighting ongoing between rival groups for control over the neighborhood Cité Soleil. The fighting began for this neighborhood on July 8, blocking the delivery of vital aid and preventing residents…
Ransomware Attack Hits French Telecoms Firm

La Poste Mobile, a French telecommunications operator, has alerted its customers that their data may have been affected by a ransomware attack that occurred earlier this month and targeted the company’s administrative and management systems. The attack took the company’s systems offline as the organization worked to ensure that damage was minimized. A week later,…
Popular NFT Marketplace Phished for $540M

A North Korean advanced persistent threat group has been linked to a cyberattack that occurred in March in which gaming platform Axie Infinity was targeted. According to security researchers, Axie Infinity suffered losses of $540 million after the attackers conducted a spear-phishing attack that allowed them access to in-game non-fungible tokens. A report was published…
Binance allegedly continued to serve Iranian customers, despite ban and sanctions

Global cryptocurrency exchange Binance is under the spotlight as a report claims it continued serving Iranian clients despite a company ban and economic sanctions against the country. According to an investigative report from Reuters, individuals inside the country continued to trade on Binance after the company itself had shifted Iran onto a blacklist of jurisdictions in…
Can Decentralized Lending Spread the Wealth Without Centralizing?

If you took the collateral out of decentralized lending, you’d have something not only potentially useful, but scalable into the real economy. So said the Bank for International Settlement (BIS) in June. The problem is, that requires taking the decentralization of decentralized finance (DeFi), because it would require a trusted intermediary to vet lenders. But the whole…
Biggest Security Concerns Around NFTs

The first known non-fungible token was a short video clip minted on May 3, 2014. Since then, NFTs have grown rapidly from amusing trifles to serious stores of value. In 2021, a work by the artist Beeple sold for a whopping $69.3 million. That was just a portion of the estimated $40 billion valuation of…
Cybersecurity Threats in Crypto Exchanges Everyone Should Know

Cybercriminals have begun coming up with ways to exploit the unexpected rise in value and importance of cryptocurrencies in their hunt for more profitable schemes. Malware that mines cryptocurrencies has become a popular way to earn money and is a viable alternative to ransomware. Cybercriminals have turned to utilize a variety of tools and strategies aimed…
Uniswap Under Attack: $8M Lost in ETH as Users Succumb to Phishing

Uniswap has become the latest victim of a phishing attack, which have become a trademark scheme by crypto hackers in 2022. This time, Uniswap’s V3 liquidity pool (LP) suffered an exploit in which NFT positions worth approximately $8.1 million were illicitly acquired. To trick the pool provider into signing malicious transactions, the hacker group impersonated Uniswap’s…
Euro hits US dollar parity for first time in 20 years

The euro was at a low of $1 as of 10:00 GMT on Tuesday and stock markets fell as potential central bank tightening and concerns about the health of worldwide economies made investors uneasy. The euro is the weakest it’s value has been in over 20 years. The US currency has reached two decade highs…
Iran plans to supply Russia with drones, US warns

The White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan has said that the US has received information that suggests Iran may be planning to supply Russia with drones for its war in Ukraine, some with combat capabilities. Information also suggests that Iran is preparing to train Russian forces to use these drones. It is unclear if…
India to surpass China as most populous country in 2023, UN report says

India is expected to pass China as the most populous country in 2023. Both countries are counting over 1.4 billion residents this year and a United Nations report warned on Monday that high fertility rates may challenge economic growth. The world’s population is estimated to reach 8 billion by mid-November of 2022 could grow to…
To stop quantum hackers, the US just chose these four quantum-resistant encryption algorithms

The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology recently announced four quantum-resistant cryptographic algorithms hand selected by the institute to be applied to general encryption and digital signatures. The NIST serves as the US’s standards setting body and research organization within the Department of Commerce. The algorithms have endured a six year…
Decentralized Finance: How DeFi Yields Are Generated

Decentralized finance (DeFi) has ballooned into a booming industry that demonstrates some of the efficient and creative possibilities of the crypto industry. Tens of billions of dollars in crypto assets today are locked in DeFi, a significant increase from 2021. One reason it continues to grow is the appeal of “yield farming,” a strategy that leverages…
Cryptocurrency Is Coming to Your Credit Cards

Cryptocurrencies are a volatile investment today, but card companies including Visa Inc. and Mastercard Inc. are betting crypto will one day be used routinely for everyday purchases from food to clothes to plane tickets—and they don’t want to be left behind when that happens. Consumers now can make payments with cryptocurrencies linked to Visa and…
Malicious CuteBoi cryptomining campaign detailed

Researchers have disclosed what they say could be an attempt to kick-off a new large-scale cryptocurrency mining campaign targeting the NPM JavaScript package repository. The malicious activity, attributed to a software supply chain threat actor dubbed CuteBoi, involves an array of 1,283 rogue modules that were published in an automated fashion from over 1,000 different…
Bitcoin faces Mt. Gox ‘black swan’ as trustee prepares to unlock 150000 BTC

Bitcoin (BTC) faces a new selling threat in the near future as users of defunct exchange Mt. Gox prepare to get their BTC back. In fresh correspondence dated July 6, attorney Nobuaki Kobayashi, appointed trustee in the Mt. Gox rehabilitation process, confirmed that he was “preparing to make repayments” to account holders. Over eight years after…
Here’s how North Korean operatives are trying to infiltrate US crypto firms

Devin, the founder of a cryptocurrency startup based in San Francisco, woke up one day in February to the most bizarre phone call of his life. The man on the other end, an FBI agent, told Devin that the seemingly legitimate software developer he’d hired the previous summer was a North Korean operative who’d sent tens…
Ukraine aims to amass ‘million-strong army’ to recapture south, says defense minister

Ukraine wants to take back the south of the country from Russia using a million-strong army and Nato weapons, according to the defense minister. The areas around the coast of the Black Sea are vital to Ukraine’s economy. Russia is making progress in taking territory in the eastern Donbas region, there was an attack on…
Sri Lanka President Gotabaya Rajapaksa confirms resignation, PM’s office says

The Sri Lankan prime minister’s office has confirmed that Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will resign. Protests over Sri Lanka’s financial crisis have worsened, with tens of thousands of protestors storming the residences of both Sri Lankan President and prime minister. The parliament Speaker has said Rajapaksa will resign on July 13. Mr Rajapaksa has…
Crypto hackers are increasingly phishing for new bait on social media

As more people enter the web3 ecosystem, there are increasing opportunities for hackers to attack. And during the second quarter, there was a significant rise in crypto-focused phishing attacks across social media sites, according to a new report. There were 290 recorded attacks during the second quarter, up 170% from 106 in the first quarter, according…
Navigating Contractual Relationships in the NFT Market

Participants in the fast-moving – but legally uncertain – non-fungible token (NFT) marketplace can maximize their business opportunities and mitigate risk by delineating their specific role early and clearly defining where their obligations begin and where their responsibilities end. Understanding and defining your role, and the role of your counterparties, is critical. Here are some…
Cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital files for bankruptcy

Major cryptocurrency broker Voyager Digital Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy protection, becoming the second major company to file during the recent volatility in the crypto market after the collapse of Three Arrows Capital. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy late Tuesday, a mere week after it suspended withdrawals, deposits and trading on its platform. At…
PayPal and Microsoft Adopt Cryptocurrencies: What This Means for the Future

The recent crypto market crash has sparked a wave of fear, uncertainty and doubt throughout the industry. The crash, which is now being called a stablecoin crash started with the imploded Terra LUNA which lost over 95% of its value in a matter of hours. These developments sparked a marketwide crash that saw Bitcoin hit…
Crema hackers retain $1.6M after giving back $8M in protocol

Crema hacker who exploited Solana’s liquidity protocol on July 2 was allowed to keep $1.6 million in white hat incentives, but he returned most of the money. The 45,455 Solana (SOL) reward is worth around 16.7 percent of Crema’s lost $9.6 million, forcing the protocol to shut down service. The Crema staff began investigating who…
Aon Hack Exposed Sensitive Information of 146,000 Customers

A British multinational financial services firm that boasts a range of risk-mitigation products has announced that it suffered from a large data breach in which information belonging to over 145,000 customers based in North America was exposed. The company reported that its systems were breached at varying times between December 29 2020 and February 26…
Apple Announces ‘Lockdown Mode’ to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Workers From Spyware

On Wednesday, Apple announced a slew of new iPhone security features it calls “Lockdown Mode” aimed to protect journalists and human rights workers from spyware. Lockdown Mode will be available in the fall of this year and offer iPhone users a number of new security features, including blocking message attachment types and disabling link previews.…
Google Patches Chrome Zero Day Under Attack

Google has announced that a new update to the Chrome browser fixed four vulnerabilities. The new version of Chrome will be rolled out to Windows users over the next several days to mitigate the flaws, particularly one zero-day that is being exploited by attackers. The high severity flaw is a heap buffer overflow bug that…
No power for up to six hours in South Africa electricity crisis

South Africa has been experiencing rolling blackouts of up to six hours a day during a bitterly cold winter due to an unreliable power supply in the country. The state-run power company Eskom has been experiencing poor management and corruption which has caused South Africa to experience power cuts for many years, but this will…
Germany approves Finland and Sweden NATO membership bid

The German lawmakers in the Bundestag ratified Sweden and Finland’s accession into NATO on Friday. The move of Sweden and Finland joining NATO must be approved by all 30 members’ parliaments. The Bundestag approved the process following Canada, Estonia, Denmark and Norway. Finland and Sweden decided to join NATO when Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began.…
Hundreds of firefighters battle ‘mega-fire’ in southern France

Over 900 firefighters have been deployed to a fire in France’s southern Gard region. The firefighters are backed by aircraft and the blaze has burned 600 hectares so far. A senior member of the fire service said there are many hard-to-reach fronts of the fire that are continuing to advance, making the fire far from…
Japan’s ex-leader Shinzo Abe assassinated while giving speech

Former Prime Minister of Japan, Shinzo Abe has been assassinated during a campaign speech in the southern city of Nara in Japan. He was shot in the neck and immediately collapsed and then was rushed to the hospital. The former Prime Minister was 67 years old and was pronounced dead around 5pm local time, five…
Brazil could face ‘more severe’ election unrest than the US Capitol riot, official warns

A senior elections official has warned that Brazil faces possibly dangerous unrest during the country’s presidential vote. The Superior Electoral Court Minister Edson Fachin said there is a risk of unrest more sever than the January 6th insurrection in the United States in 2021. The elections in October are expected to pit President Jair Bolsonaro…
Crypto owners banned from working on US Government crypto policies

US government officials who privately own cryptocurrencies are now banned from working on regulations and policies that could affect the value of digital assets. A new advisory notice released by the US Office of Government Ethics (OGE) on Tuesday stated that the de minimis exemption — which allows for the owners of securities who hold…
Money laundering within DeFi up by 263% says industry study

Recent analysis of the DeFi sector carried out by CryptoMonday shows that money laundering in the sector has grown by 263% in the first two quarters of 2022. At press time, DeFi protocols have been conduits of up to 69% of funds associated with illicit activity, a significant upsurge from 19% in 2021. “Bad actors…