August 6, Monero (XMR) has experienced its biggest increase in hashrate since the network’s creation in 2014. Monero hashrate. Source: Coin Metrics. The Monero hashrate increased from 1.67 GH/s on August 5 to 2.2 GH/s on August 6. That 0.52 GH/s single day gain is the highest in the project’s history. Prior to this, most significant daily percentage gains came in the project’s early days when the base was much smaller. Banks should embrace privacy coins to protect their clients On August 3, Coin Center submitted comments to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on National Bank and …

Passport data from 1.14 million Russians is now available for sale on underground shops via the dark web. This data was stolen from citizens who voted in the country’s recent constitutional reform referendum, which utilized Blockchain technology. According to Kommersant, quoting information provided by the hackers, illegal sellers have already sold over “30 thousand lines” of a document that contains the leaked data. Lines are listed at a cost of $1.50 each, but the price-per-line goes as low as $1 for parties purchasing the data in bulk. Although passport data cannot necessarily be used for sensitive purposes, the sellers claim …

A federal grand jury in the District of Columbia has charged two Costa Rican residents for illegally selling opioids on the darknet. Originally from the United States, David Brian Pate is a darknet vendor who along with Costa Rican pharmacist Jose Luis Hou sold drugs worth 23,903 Bitcoin (BTC) — approximately $270 million — to darknet customers. The jury charged Pate and Hou for conspiring to distribute controlled substances, distributing controlled substances, conspiring to import these substances and conspiring to launder money and money instruments. Selling drugs on SilkRoad and AlphaBay According to the statement published by the Department of …

Cybersecurity firm McAfee released a study showing the activities of NetWalker, a ransomware first known as Mailto that was initially discovered in August 2019. According to the report, the operators of NetWalker have collected over $25 million from ransom payments since March 2020. From March 1 to July 27, the group collected around 2,795 Bitcoin (BTC), purportedly making it one of the most profitable types of ransomware for cybercriminals. According to the report, the Bitcoin transactions received by the gang — where the amount is split among several different addresses — reflects that NetWalker is a "ransomware-as-a-service" malware. Such a …

A group of hackers associated with the North Korean regime have kept their crypto extortion efforts alive in 2020. A group of North Korean hackers operating under the name “Lazarus” targeted several crypto exchanges last year, according to a report published by Chainalysis. One of the attacks involved the creation of a fake trading bot which was offered to employees of the DragonEx exchange. Findings show that in March 2019, the hackers stole approximately $7 million in various cryptocurrencies from the Singapore-based exchange. Cybersecurity vendor Cyfirma warned in June about a massive crypto phishing campaign that could be launched by …

According to Chainalysis, almost one million Bitcoin (BTC) is held by illicit actors in the space with over half being held by darknet markets. Bitcoin held by illicit entities. Source: Chainalysis. Illicit markets currently have 585,000 BTC in their possession, scams have 99,000 BTC, stolen funds constitute another 205,000 BTC, and all others hold an additional 3,000 BTC — a grand total of 892,000 BTC. According to Chainalysis, only 0.32% of all current Bitcoin flows are tainted by illicit activity. Laundering of illicit Bitcoins. Source: Chainalysis. Exchanges play a pivotal role Regardless of origin, the top destinations for illicit Bitcoin …

Two Italian 17-year-olds were arrested for paying Bitcoin (BTC) to see children being sexually abused, tortured and murdered in live streaming. Local media Il Messaggero reported on July 15 that the deep web website viewed by the two also allowed users to pay extra to decide what torture the children would be subjected to next. Italian law enforcement explained: “Users that were able to reach those kinds of obscure environments are allowed to take part in acts of sexual violence and torture on minors, performed live by adults.” Livestreamed torture on-demand The services offered by the website have different costs. …

The MGM Resort suffered a massive data breach in 2019 that left 142 million hotel guests exposed. A hacker is now selling the stolen database for roughly $2,900. According to the information revealed by ZDNet, a dark web marketplace claims that data from 142,479,937 MGM hotel guests are on sale. Preferred payment is denominated in Bitcoin (BTC) and Monero (XMR). MGM Resorts confirmed the data breach, stating that they’re aware of the scope of this previously reported incident from 2019. No financial data was leaked However, according to the research, the cybercriminal did not leak any sensitive data from the …

A recent study revealed that over 15 billion credentials are in circulation via the dark web, representing a 300% increase since 2018. Available information ranges from network access credentials, banking login data, and even streaming services accounts from Netflix. According to research conducted by the cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows, part of the leaked data is even circulating for free. The report warns that the reason that so many account credentials are available online is that people are using non-complex passwords that can be easily brute-forced using hacking tools. Access to corporate networks as an open door for ransomware attacks Among …

The U.S. Department of Justice, or DoJ, indicted Andrey Turchin, known under the pseudonym "fxmsp," with various federal crimes. Turchin allegedly founded a cybercrime group that targeted the computer networks of several companies. After stealing each company’s data, Turchin’s group allegedly sold the data on the dark web. Turchin, a 37 year old Kazakhstan national, is affectionately known on the dark web as "the invisible god of networks." He allegedly sold access to thousands of networks breached with his malware attacks, amassing a million dollar crypto fortune over the course of three years. The Western District of Washington is now …

According to crypto advocate Roger Ver, Bitcoin Cash (BCH) is the only “recent” coin to be widely used on the dark web. “The only other coins being used on the darknet markets are the coins that have been around for a long time like Bitcoin, of course, then Monero,” Ver said. Coinelegraph’s investigation showed that although BCH does reach the Dark Web, it's far from being a leading cryptocurrency there. This is surprising: while privacy-focused cryptocurrencies like Monero commonly protect the identities of darknet buyers and sellers alike, Bitcoin Cash has some technical features that can bring its level of …

The Spanish Civil Guard has taken down a dark-web child porn ring that used cryptocurrency transactions to pay for content. Multiple individuals across the country were ultimately arrested. According to the Spanish Civil Guard, the “Jekyll” operation captured three people involved in the “Welcome 2 Video” platform, thanks in part to additional support from United States authorities. Bitcoin and “anonymous tokens” Users would send Bitcoin (BTC) and “other tokens or anonymous money transfer services” to access videos on the dark web site. Members were also rewarded for uploading their own videos and photos to the platform. Analysis of thousands of …