In case you still thought otherwise, it's not just international men of mystery and Jersey mobsters who need to be mindful of what they say via cellphones these days, it's regular private citizens like you and I. Continue reading
Category Archives: Security
Half Million Dollar Ransom Made In Bitcoin
For one Canadian expatriate the term "Ransomware" has taken a more literal turn. According to The Tico Times Ryan Piercy was allegedly kidnapped and held for roughly a month by attackers who demanded a half million dollar ransom to be paid in Bitcoin. Piercy arrived home Saturday via taxi, so if Piercy was indeed held for ransom it seems incredibly likely the ransom was paid and the scheme worked as advertised.
The Dangers of Bitcoin Trapping
A place where an illegal transaction happens, such as a drug deal has come to be known as “the trap spot”. In those moments when both parties meet anyone can run up on the participants and cause pandemonium to erupt. Due to the untrustworthy dealings of Coinbase and Bitstamp, the best method for acquiring Bitcoin is through old fashioned OTC trade. However speculation of the dangers of trapping has become reality for unlucky individuals in New York City. The Observer reported a crime wave in which victims have been robbed at gunpoint for their coins. Continue reading
The Superfish Funder List
In the wake of yesterday's disclosure of Lenovo's appalling inclusion of the Superfish malware on their OEM Windows installs, let us highlight the Venture Capital Firms which made Superfish possible: Continue reading
Seals With Clubs Shutters
On an announcement replacing their normal front page one of Bitcoin's longest tenured poker sites, Seals with Clubs, has decided to close their doors citing "Operational Security" concerns. They cite without specifics several events which occurred around February 11th, 2015 as being the catalyst for the decision, offering that if Seals with Clubs continued as presently structured it would be "in a perpetual state of jeopardy." They are advising users to withdraw their funds as soon as possible. Continue reading
Windows Ecosystem Security Still Horrifying
Today it was revealed that Lenovo has been installing a piece of adware called "Superfish" which uses an SSL man in the middle attack to replace ads served to users and potentially engage in all kinds of other evil. Abuse of unaware users who run Microsoft Windows by computing vendors has a long history which includes many other notable episodes such as Sony proposing a lack of factory bloatware as a premium option to the entire existence of the venture known as "WildTangent." Continue reading
Your Disk Controller and You
A recent publication by Kaspersky Lab (mirror) describes the first publicly-confirmed instance of a Microsoft Windows 'trojan' capable of infecting hard disk drive firmware. For every word that's been written on the subject so far, ten thousand words of disinformation, FUD, and general-purpose obscurantist rubbish are floating about – eagerly passed around by spambots disguised as 'independent bloggers' and fleshy meat-puppets alike. Expect no shortage of 'product' from the well-funded – but, interestingly, not especially competent – FUD agency charged with spreading confusion and misplaced skepticism after this and every other Snowden-related tidbit. Continue reading
Up To One Billion in Fiat Value Stolen From Banks
Kaspersky Labs in a report to be released soon will allege that up to a Billion United States Dollars in fiat value appears to have been stolen in an operation that has persisted since at least late 2013. Unlike in many similar thefts, this one directly targeted the banks themselves rather than customer accounts. More than 100 banks spread across 30 countries have been affected. The thieves' modus operadi involves stealing up to 10 million dollars from each targeted bank before moving on to the next target. Continue reading
PseudoNode Proxy Fools Bitcoin Full Node Incentive Program
Vessennes' Bitcoin Foundation recently sponsored a full node incentive program that pays full nodes registered with a Bitcoin address weekly if deemed eligible. The incentive program's goal is to estimate the size of the Bitcoin network by finding all reachable nodes running bitcoind version 0.8 or higher, likely in an attempt to lower the barrier necessary for a possible fork. Continue reading
Megaupload Programmer: Days From Arrest to Plea
Andrus Nomm, a former programmer from the defuct file sharing website Megaupload was arrested earlier this week before entering a guilty plea and being sentenced this same week. Nomm plead guilty to felony copyright infringement and was sentenced to one year and one day in jail. One of Megaupload's lawyers confirmed for the New Zealand Herald that Nomm was involved in a deal or agreed to come to the US. Among other charges Nomm is accused of watching at least one pirated TV Show. It, as always, remains important to note that his prison sentence is happening exactly because he came to the United States of his own volition and still finds himself having walked into the prison himself.