The Register reports that the Scottish government has moved its online home from 'scotland.gov.uk' to 'gov.scot' in a move that pleases the leadership of the Scottish National Party. Last year a ballot initiative which would have opened the path for Scotland to render the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland' instead merely the 'United Kingdom of Lower Britain and Northern Ireland' was defeated. Continued nationalist sentiment and dissatisfaction with English governance has left London forced to continue throwing money at Scotland in an effort to bribe the Scottish people into docility. 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
Silk Road Meth Dealer Pleads Guilty
A drug dealer who sold 17.6 pounds of methamphetamine totalling 3169 orders via the original Silk Road today plead guilty for his role in what was a four man operation.
Jason Weld Hagen, who went by the name hammertime on the SR, was arrested back in December of 2013 and originally plead not guilty. Hammertime's operation came unstuck after another man who was facing drugs charges agreed to cooperate with law enforcement. With that assistance, federal agents in Maryland ordered 17.5g of meth over the December 2012 to January 2013 period. Continue reading
Vermont Bitcoin ATM Cease and Desist Requested
On January 12th Blu-Bin, a Burlington-based 3D printing business, received a cease and desist letter asking for the shutdown of the state's only Bitcoin ATM. The number of Bitcoin ATMs throughout the world is booming significantly, although concerns of the privacy of the individuals using these machines have arisen. The US has attempted to heavily regulate Bitcoin ATMs with KYC, thus usage of one sometimes requires personal data such as a social security number, a palm print or taking a picture of the user's face. Continue reading
CAVIRTEX Shutting Down, Withdrawals "Temporarily Disabled"
CAVIRTEX, Canada's most prominent CAD-BTC exchange and staunch advocate for government regulation, announced earlier today that it will cease operations effective March 25th, 2015. Continue reading
British Darkmarket Ricin Arrest
A British man, Mohammed Ammer Ali, was arrested after allegedly attempting to buy ricin powder. He however was transacting with an FBI agent who fraudulently sent 5 vials of harmless white powder that was not the ricin he was alleged to have paid $500 for. The counterfeit ricin was marketed as actual ricin on a darkmarket website and delivered to Mister Ali hidden inside of a toy car. Ali is a father of two who is now facing charges under the United Kingdom's Chemical Weapons Act for receiving a toy car full of a substance that was not ricin at all. Continue reading
Netagio To Close Bitcoin Exchange In Favour Of Fiat
The UK Bitcoin exchange Netagio today announced intentions to close the exchange as of the 18th of March, opting instead to launch a wealth storage business which will safe guard cash in money vaults across the globe.
Speaking on the closure, Simon Hamblin, CEO of Netagio, said: 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
Bter.com Alleges Theft Of 7170 BTC
The altcoin exchange Bter.com today announced the alleged theft of 7170BTC from what the exchange claims was a cold wallet. The first signs of problems appeared earlier today when a now removed messaged greeted Bter.com visitors: Continue reading
Elizabeth Warren Balks on Opportunity to Act on Federal Reserve Criticisms
Reason Magazine via the Wall Street Journal reports that freshman Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren has come out against legislation proposed by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul to audit the Federal Reserve. This is in spite of the fact that in the past she has called for investigations into corruption in the Federal Reserve banks. Continue reading