US Teen ‘Mastermind’ in Epic Twitter Hack Sentenced to Prison
A Florida teenager accused of masterminding a Twitter hack of celebrity accounts in a crypto currency scheme has been sentenced to three years in juvenile prison in a plea agreement, officials said. State prosecutors announced the deal Tuesday in the case of Graham Ivan Clark, 18, described as the mastermind of the July 2020 “Bit-Con”…
Thefts from cryptocurrency exchanges continue despite increased security
Although exchanges, wallets and other cryptocurrency custody services are strengthening their defenses, attackers continue to innovate and outpace even the current state of the cybersecurity art, according to CipherTrace. Even Binance, the world’s number-one cryptocurrency exchange, lost tens of millions of crypto assets to a cyberattack perpetrated by sophisticated hackers using a lethal cocktail of…
Lessons learned from the many crypto hacks
The one poignant lesson that crypto investors globally have learned over the years is that despite the immutable, impenetrable nature of the technology behind cryptocurrencies and blockchain, their crypto investments and transactions are not secure. 2018, for example, witnessed some of the largest crypto exchange hacks globally. Not to mention, the alarming volatility in the…
Increasing security measures are driving cybercriminals to alter their techniques
Increased security measures and awareness are driving cybercriminals to alter their techniques in search of a better return on investment (ROI). As a result, two major shifts occured, including decreased reliance on malware and a decline in ransomware, as criminals increased their use of other cybercrime techniques with the potential for greater ROI, according to…
Cybercriminals shift tools, tactics and procedures to improve infection rates
Trend Micro released its Midyear Security Roundup 2018, revealing that cybercriminals are moving away from attention-grabbing ransomware attacks to more covert methods intended to steal money and valuable computing resources. Cryptojacking attempts are making the biggest impact so far this year. Trend Micro recorded a 96 percent increase in cryptocurrency mining detections in 1H 2018…
Cybercriminals will gravitate to criminal activity that maximizes their profit
McAfee released its McAfee Labs Threats Report: June 2018, examining the growth and trends of new malware, ransomware, and other threats in Q1 2018. McAfee Labs saw on average five new threat samples every second, including growth in cryptojacking and other cryptocurrency mining malware, and notable campaigns demonstrating a deliberate drive to technically improve upon…
Will blockchain power the next generation of data security?
Cryptomania is dominating conversations from Silicon Valley to Wall Street. But ‘cryptocurrency’ is only one implementation of the underlying technology innovation that has the ability to transform the way future technology products are designed and built. Of course, that technology is blockchain, the decentralized digital ledger that makes Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies possible. First, we…
Don’t start the blockchain revolution without making security a top priority
McAfee released a report detailing the numerous cybersecurity risks associated with blockchain-based cryptocurrencies, and asserts the necessity of making cybersecurity a top priority as industry builds out the foundations for the widespread implementation of blockchain technologies. Demand for blockchain technology continues to grow among some of the most established industries worldwide, including the government, finance,…
Crypto Mining Malware Infects Thousands of Websites
Hacked Script Infects Several Government Sites with Cryptominer The websites of numerous government, health and education organizations worldwide were infected with a crypto-currency miner over the weekend, after a script running on all of them was maliciously modified. The culprit was Browsealoud, a script developed by Texthelp to add “speech, reading, and translation to websites.”…