Singapore-based unicorn startup Acronis released its latest cybersecurity survey on March 31 today, highlighting that 86% of IT professionals are concerned about cryptojacking. According to the 2020 World Cyber Protection Week Survey, there is a growing fear among IT experts in the face of cryptojacking attacks, as the study shows that 30% of personal users and 13% of professional users wouldn't know if their data or computer's resources were modified unexpectedly, as such threat does. The report also stresses that awareness and concerns about cyber-threatening methods like cryptojacking have been increasing in the last two years, surging by 33% since …

Black hat hacker group, Maze, claims to have used ransomware to compromise the systems of insurance giant, Chubb. They also claim to have stolen the firm’s data. Brett Callow, threat analyst at cybersecurity firm, Emsisoft, told Cointelegraph on March 27 that Maze published the claim on its website. While the website does not provide any direct proof of the hack so far, Callow pointed out facts that give the claim an air of credibility: “Maze’s past victims include governments, law firms, healthcare providers, manufacturers, medical research companies, healthcare providers and more.” Maze’s modus operandi Callow explained that the group usually …

Four South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges reportedly are assisting local law enforcement authorities in the investigation of the so-called “nth rooms” case that has grabbed headlines nationwide. According to the report published on March 25 by Chainnews, Upbit, Bithumb, Coinone, and Korbit collaborated with the police in an attempt to reveal the identity of those involved in the child porn scandal. South Korean police had said that about 10,000 people had joined the Telegram groups through which the pornographic material was distributed. Cryptocurrency transactions involved in “nth rooms” case Although it has not been possible to quantify precisely, authorities say that …

Black hat hacker group Maze has infected the infrastructure of a firm researching the coronavirus with ransomware, managing to steal and publish sensitive data. The hack of medical information Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft told Cointelegraph on March 23 that Maze group’s hackers compromised United Kingdom medical firm Hammersmith Medicines Research. The published data includes sensitive data on medical test volunteers such as id documents like passports, medical background and details of the tests. Emsisoft threat analyst Brett Callow said: “[The data] is on the clear web where it can be accessed by anybody with an internet connection. [...] The criminals almost …

According to Chainalysis’ March 5th webinar, over $1 trillion worth of cryptocurrency transactions took place in 2019 with only 1.1% of them being illicit. Source: Chainalysis Diminishing of darknet markets Overall, as crypto adoption keeps on growing and the number of use cases for cryptocurrency expands, illicit transactions on a percentage basis, keep diminishing; implying that the industry today is much healthier than in the early days when much of the volume was driven by darknet markets. Industry-wide cooperation thwarts crypto hackers Source: Chainalysis As more cryptocurrency enters exchanges, they remain the most coveted targets for crypto hackers. However, the …

While some global cryptocurrency exchanges move to expand Know Your Customer (KYC) rules, some major rivals claim that crypto platforms do not need KYC at all. Digitex, a Seychelles-based crypto derivatives exchange, will start removing KYC identification this week in response to a major user data leak that happened last month. Digitex will have no KYC identity requirements as of April 2020 Adam Todd, CEO at Digitex Futures Exchange, revealed the news in a public video statement on March 4, declaring that Digitex will have all KYC identification processes removed from its platform as of April 2020. Todd clarified that …

Self-proclaimed Bitcoin (BTC) creator Craig Wright claims that Bitcoin can and will be seized to accommodate court orders. On Feb. 26, Bitcoin influencer Peter McCormack published screenshots showing Wright claiming that the first seizure of Bitcoin by courts will happen this year and won’t require private keys. Bitcoin seizure through miner coordination Instead, it will supposedly happen through miner and node coordinating to comply with a court order. He concluded: “Without keys, BTC will be confiscated. Code is law, and courts can mandate patching code. Bitcoin is not encrypted. It is economic.” In the second and last screenshot, Wright asks …

Hackers compromised five United States law firms and demanded two 100 Bitcoin (BTC) (over $933,000 at press time) ransoms from each firm: one to restore access to the data, one to delete their copy instead of selling it. According to data shared with Cointelegraph by cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, the hacker group — called Maze — already started publishing part of the data stolen from the aforementioned firms. Two of the five law firms were hacked within the 24 hours leading to Feb. 1. The hackers published the data on two websites that were shared with the author of this article, …

Opportunistic cybercriminals are capitalizing on the death of basketball legend Kobe Bryant earlier this week by setting booby-traps for those searching for mementos of the star. According to a tweet by Microsoft Security Intelligence on Jan. 31, hackers are hiding malicious html code containing a cryptojacking script in desktop wallpaper of the NBA all-time great. Cryptojacking is a practice whereby cybercriminals hijack processing power from other computers to mine cryptocurrencies remotely. Following the tragic helicopter crash which claimed the lives of Byrant, his 13-year old daughter, and seven other occupants, there has been increased interest in the star from both …

A United Kingdom High Court ordered a proprietary injunction on Bitcoin (BTC) obtained through a ransomware attack on a Canadian insurance company. A proprietary injunction is an order which prevents a person from dealing with their own assets when it is subject of a proprietary claim. On Jan. 17, the UK High Court released documents concerning a ransomware attack, in which over 1,000 computers of the insurance company were rendered unusable through the use of malware that encrypted files, making them unaccessible. The unidentified attackers demanded $1.2 million in Bitcoin in exchange for decrypting the data. The firm’s insurer covered …

The Lazarus hacker group, which is allegedly sponsored by the North Korean government, has deployed new viruses to steal cryptocurrency. Major cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported on Jan. 8 that Lazarus has doubled down its efforts to infect both Mac and Windows users’ computers. The group had been using a modified open-source cryptocurrency trading interface called QtBitcoinTrader to deliver and execute malicious code in what has been called “Operation AppleJeus,” as Kaspersky reported in late August 2018. Now, the firm reports that Lazarus has started making changes to the malware. Kaspersky identified a new macOS and Windows virus named UnionCryptoTrader, which …

Major South Korean cryptocurrency exchange — run by a subsidiary of Korean tech giant Kakao — has notified users of the theft of 342,000 Ether (ETH) from its hot wallet. The incident was confirmed in an official statement written by Lee Seok-woo, the CEO of Upbit’s operator, Dunamu, on Nov. 27. Upbit will use corporate funds to protect user assets In his statement, Lee Seok-woo revealed that: “At 1:06 PM on November 27, 2019, 342,000 ETH (approximately 58 billion won) were transferred from the Upbeat Ethereum Hot Wallet to an unknown wallet. Unknown wallet address is 0xa09871AEadF4994Ca12f5c0b6056BBd1d343c029.” Apologizing to users …