n Switzerland-based blockchain, IoT and cybersecurity firm WISeKey has acquired a 22 interest in U.S. data infrastructure firm Tarmin through a multi-million USD transactionn
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Swiss Cybersecurity Firm Opens Blockchain Center in Geneva
n Swiss-based cybersecurity firm WISeKey opens Blockchain Center of Excellence in Genevan
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Bitcoin Is The Answer: Paypal Bans Cybersecurity News Outlet
To many, Bitcoin is a censorship-resistant, decentralized, immutable, and borderless transactional tool that transcends centralized boundaries. But for many Westerners, these inherent features aren’t something that’s all too useful in day-to-day life. However, with the rise of Internet censorship and anti-“radical” narratives, some believe that the need for decentralized mediums of value and information cannot come fast enough.
Related Reading: Bitcoin Acceptance: The Changing Face of Mainstream Media Coverage
Paypal Purges The Hacker News’ Accounts
On Saturday morning, reports arose that The Hacker News (THN), a trusted, world-renowned outlet for cybersecurity news, had all of its Paypal accounts shut down. THN took to its Twitter feed, which sports 514,000 followers, to convey the news.
That's so much frustrating.@PayPal has permanently banned all of our accounts without mentioning any reason and hold wallet funds wrongly for 180 days.
Upon asking, @AskPayPal also refused to share any details.
— The Hacker News (@TheHackersNews) December 29, 2018
The outlet claimed that Paypal, permanently banned its Paypal accounts without mentioning a specific rationale. Paypal even purportedly rubbed salt on THN’s wound, so to speak, claiming that it would be holding wallet funds for 180 days, failing to cite a reason yet again. After some back and forth, the financial services company explained that “specific reasons for such a decision is proprietary & it is not released,” skirting THN’s inquiry for the third time.
Bitcoin Is The Answer
As this news broke, spreading across the Twitter landscape like wildfire, the cryptosphere immediately took to THN’s side, claiming that the bans were non-sensical and censorship at its worst. Simultaneously, a number of leading Bitcoiners took some time to double-down on their aversion to the centralized establishment. Matt Odell, a Bitcoin proponent and cryptographer, claimed that when there’s nowhere left to turn, BTC is always there.
When there is no other option, there is bitcoin. https://t.co/YmJ7lJ8Dz1
— Matt Odell (@matt_odell) December 29, 2018
Marty Bent, a crypto-centric media creator, explained that payment processors have begun to lose their minds, likely referencing the increase in digital censorship. Bent added that it’s time to “level up” by the way of Bitcoin, which will leave the “power drunk companies” in the dust.
It seems as though the payment processors are losing their minds. Time to level up with Bitcoin and leave these power drunk companies behind. https://t.co/5hhPvrFdNw
— Marty Bent (@MartyBent) December 29, 2018
Other prominent industry commentators and crypto-friendly startups have also come out to laud Bitcoin. NVK, a pseudonymous decentralist, claimed that using, buying, and spreading the good name of Bitcoin, as it were, will lead to victory (presumably over the centralized powers that be). Rui Gomes, a developer at Tim Draper-backed OpenNode, claimed that case of seeming censorship only accentuates Bitcoin’s underlying value proposition.
This recent development comes just days after Patreon, a platform that allows consumers to give back to creators, banned Jordan Peterson, a psychology professor and prominent political commentator, for pushing ideas that purportedly weren’t in step with Patreon’s terms of service. Both of these bans, whether issued in malintent or otherwise, only underscore the fact that cryptocurrencies have value. But, the public at large hasn’t acknowledged this fact just yet, as they remain trapped in traditional systems, failing to comprehend the power of decentralization.
Featured Image from Shutterstock
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Korean Crypto Exchange Earns Key Government Cybersecurity Certification
n nn nn South Korean cryptocurrency exchange GOPAX has become the first blockchain company to attain K-ISMS certification, the official standard in Korea for information security management systems. This is an important sign of approval by the Korean government regarding GOPAXs cybersecurity infrastructure.K-ISMS certification is an official domestic standard regarding the establishment, management and operation of information security systems for selected industr
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Saifu’s Cybersecurity Fundamentals – Evgeny Vigovsky & Thales
Saifu is a crypto-financial platform that offers fiat and cryptocurrency integrated into one account. Their goal is to bring cryptocurrencies mainstream, and they pride themselves on being easy, secure, and regulated. In the second department, they boast two cybersecurity powerhouses: international security giant Thales, and former Head of DDoS protection at Kaspersky Labs, Evgeny Vigovsky. Together, they provide bank-grade protection for Saifu users.
A Rock Solid Security Foundation
Evgeny Vigovsky is the co-founder of Saifu and its CTO. He has more than 18 years of experience in IT and cybersecurity, including 12 years at Kaspersky Lab. Vigovsky was Global Head of Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection when he left in 2016. As head of Saifu’s cybersecurity, he spearheaded a partnership with Thales, a world leader in banking security, transportation, and infrastructure. This partnership brings bank-grade security to the Saifu platform.
Thales Hardware
To protect its users’ cryptocurrencies, Saifu has announced that they will deploy Thales nShield Hardware Security Modules (HSMs). This state-of-the-art hardware effectively isolates users’ cryptocurrencies from remote access, creating a physical barrier that requires two separate keycards onsite to access. Even in the remote chance that Saifu’s servers were hacked, the cryptocurrencies would be safe, protected by Thales hardware.
Evgeny Vigovsky details the advantages of the partnership:
“Thales is the most recognized and widely used security provider for global payment transactions and we have been able to take that expertise and apply it to the world of cryptocurrencies. Thales has given us a beautiful solution around which we’ve developed our own software, equipping Saifu with the ability to offer our customers a truly compelling value proposition with a user experience that meets or even exceeds that of a conventional online or mobile banking application and other cryptocurrency services.”
Jon Geater, CTO at Thales eSecurity, adds:
“Saifu set out with an admirable goal: that anyone using a traditional online or mobile banking service would also be very capable and comfortable buying or exchanging cryptocurrencies through its system. As the financial services industry undergoes digital transformation, Thales HSMs provide the same high levels of security to the world of cryptocurrency that banks have relied on for decades to keep money and transaction records safe from cyber-thieves.”
The Saifu ICO
Saifu launched an ICO for raising funds that are to be used to turn this futuristic concept into a reality. The ongoing token sale will continue until the end of April 2018, and anyone can participate. The initial price set for the Saifu token is 1 SFU token = 0.0001 BTC. Once the token sale ends, the open trading will be started.
To know more about the platform, the team behind and to participate in its ongoing token sale, please visit http://ico.saifu.ai/
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Cisco Cybersecurity Team Cracks $50 Million Ukrainian Hacker Ring
For years Ukrainian hackers have preyed on bitcoin investors, emptying wallets and then hiding behind the inherent anonymity of the encrypted blockchain.
million in stolen cryptocurrency
Now Cisco has exposed a notorious Ukranian hacker ring known as Coinhoarder (very subtle) possibly responsible for thefts equaling more than million from Blockchain.info over many years.
According to a report from Cisco’s Talos cybersecurity team, the thieves used a ‘simple yet treacherous’ form of phishing that involved salting Google adwords with near named sites like Blockchein.info.
Users entered their security information thinking they were on legitimate sites which allowed hackers to steal cryptocurrency directly from their registered wallets. According to the Talos team;
“The attackers needed only to continue purchasing Google AdWords to ensure a steady stream of victims,”
Treacherous Phishing
Cisco investigated this group’s Phishing campaign for over six months in cooperation with Ukrainian cyber-police and found that its technique had ‘become increasingly common in the wild, with attackers targeting many different crypto wallets and exchanges.‘
The Coinhoarder thefts occurred over three years but culminated in late 2017 as the value of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies rose sharply. The group reportedly got away with million between Sept. and Dec. and in one frantic burst of advertising snatched million in less than 4 weeks.
Cisco was able to trace some of the stolen funds with the assistance of Ukrainian law enforcement to the thieves own wallet address. Though this doesn’t reveal the identity of the crooks as the wallets are under pseudonyms, Cisco hopes that by scouring forums like Reddit they may eventually pick up clues to the real names of the hackers.
Coinhoarders aren’t the only hacker group to use phishing as a way to attract potential victims. The same technique is employed by the notorious Lazarus Group from North Korea. Cisco found that people from countries with insufficient banking facilities and services are more likely to fall prey to these kinds of techniques as they look towards cryptocurrency as an alternative way to store and move wealth.
In a bit of irony residents from the African countries of Nigeria and Ghana top this list of victims. Schemes like phishing that rely on digital ads have prompted Facebook to ban all cryptocurrency ads while Google is exploring ways to put an end to the misleading and fraudulent use of Adwords.
Still, the Cisco security team hopes to ultimately discover and reveal those involved in the Coinhoarder group and maybe even being able to return the stolen funds to their rightful owners. Though that is most likely wishful thinking.
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Legaltech Blockchain Startup Agrello Partners with Hardware-Based Cybersecurity Provider Rivetz
December 15, Tallinn, Estonia – Agrello, a company providing blockchain-based Legaltech and digital identity services, has partnered with Rivetz to provide an innovative, proprietary hardware-based cybersecurity mechanism for digital identities. This way, an extremely safe and easy to use digital ID is created.
Agrello provides a cryptographically secured, blockchain-based digital ID, which its users can employ to identify themselves anywhere online. The Agrello ID service can be used to sign contracts or to undergo Know-Your-Customer processes in a few seconds. Rivetz provides a toolkit to access the Trusted Execution Environment (TEE), which is built into most modern mobile devices.
Based on Rivetz’ innovation, the Agrello ID application will be able to bypass a user’s phone’s Operating System, and thereby potential malware installed on it – providing absolute protection from identity theft, data breaches, and most cyber-attack vectors.
Commenting on the newly formed partnership, Agrello CEO Hando Rand stated –
“In cooperation with Rivetz, we can take our ID system to the highest level of security assurance, providing the uppermost form of protection available today. This will allow us to expand our client base to new enterprise customers with higher levels of risk in their operations.”
Steven Sprague, Rivetz CEO, added –
“Agrello provides state of the art identity services that meet the needs of modern users. We are very pleased to collaborate with them to deliver a new token powered model for Identity and security, providing the safety and simplicity required by the market.”
Digital Identity is generally regarded as one of the most pressing problems of the internet based-economy today. With this recently announced partnership, Agrello and Rivetz seek to provide a new and simple model for the user to deliver provable attributes and assert their identity and reputation online.
About Agrello
Agrello, is an Estonian blockchain startup, developing business-ready smart contract solutions. Agrello provides everything one needs to create, sign, and manage contracts online, secured by blockchain technology.
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