A recent Bitcoin scam on Twitter that compromised several major companies verified accounts came from a third-party app, tech news outlet the Next Web (TNW) reports Friday, Nov. 16, citing social media officials. Speaking to TNW, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed that the attack came from an outside software provider and not from Twitter’s own system. However, the official refrained from naming the app. The spokesperson reportedly explained that the attackers exploited a third-party marketing solution to launch a Bitcoin (BTC) giveaway from several verified accounts, including Google’s G Suite and major U.S. department store retailer Target. The information was implicitly …

The official Twitter account of Google's G Suite was reportedly compromised to promote a Bitcoin (BTC) giveaway scam, technology and business news outlet the Next Web reported Nov. 13. The G Suite Twitter account was reportedly hacked to advertise a BTC giveaway scam to the page’s more than 800,000 followers. Scammers supposedly spread a message luring users to participate in a fraudulent 10,000 BTC giveaway, concurrently announcing that Google’s G Suite now accepts cryptocurrency as a means of payment. Screenshot of the scam message. Source: The Next Web According to the Hard Fork, the message disappeared barely more than 10 …

China-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining giant Bitmain has sued an anonymous hacker for the alleged theft of cryptocurrency worth $5.5 million from Bitmain’s account on Binance in April, according to a lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington at Seattle on Nov. 7. As stated in the court document, an unknown hacker, referred to as “John Doe” in the case, managed to take over Bitmain’s Binance account and used stored Bitcoin to manipulate the price of altcoin Decentraland (MANA) and then steal the profits. Bitmain says in the court document that the amount of the …

Four “young” hackers have been arrested in a cryptojacking case involving over 6,000 computers in what is allegedly South Korea’s “first” known case of its kind, Korean English-language news outlet Aju Daily reports Nov. 8. Cryptojacking is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. Aju Daily cites a statement from the National Police Agency's cyber bureau that clarified that the four accused had not been detained, but would face a trial for allegedly infecting 6,038 PCs with malicious mining malware, which had been concealed in job application documents sent …

Crypto exchange Gate.io has removed web analytics tool StatCounter from their website following a breach report by cybersecurity firm ESET, according to an official blog post published today, Nov. 7. The company has reported that they immediately removed StatCounter's traffic stats service after receiving a security notice by ESET about suspicious behavior. Gate.io claimed they subsequently scanned the website with 56 antivirus products, and “no one reported any suspicious behavior at that time.” However, the firm still changed its traffic tracker, also reporting that “users’ funds are safe.” On Nov. 6, Slovakia-based cybersecurity firm ESET published a security report claiming …

Cybersecurity experts say they have found potentially incriminating evidence against the hackers of Japanese crypto exchange Zaif, according to an official statement today, Nov. 5. The experts are from Japan Digital Design Co. (JDD), a subsidiary of bank holding giant Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG). As previously reported, as a result of a security breach on the Zaif exchange in mid-September, hackers succeeded in stealing 6.7 billion yen (about $59 million at press time) worth of crypto assets belonging to both users and to the exchange itself. Specifically the compromised funds consisted of 5,966 bitcoins (BTC), in addition to Bitcoin …

The Cybercrime Department of the Turkish National Police has arrested 11 suspects in an alleged hack of crypto accounts, with victims reporting more than $80,000 in losses, major Turkish newspaper Hürriyet reported Friday, Nov. 2. According to the article, 14 individuals have reported to local prosecution authorities that their crypto wallets were hacked with their Bitcoin (BTC) transferred to other wallets. Following the complaints, the Istanbul police launched an investigation against a group of hackers that had allegedly compromised users’ emails, crypto wallets’ accounts data, and passwords. On Oct. 26, cybercrime unit agents detained 11 people in multiple locations in …

Hong Kong-based crypto exchange service Changelly has announced that it helped South Korean exchange platform Bithumb recover 1,063,500 Ripple (XRP) in stolen assets following a massive hack in June, a press-release stated, Oct. 26. In June 2018, hackers attacked South Korea’s leading crypto exchange Bithumb. As soon as security specialists had detected the theft, the exchange temporarily suspended all deposits and withdrawals, and moved its customers’ funds to a cold wallet. Bithumb initially lost over $30 million worth of cryptocurrencies due to the hack. Four months after the incident, Bithumb recovered approximately $14 million in stolen digital assets after it …

How can I be sure an exchange is telling the truth? Actions matter more than words – so take a look at what they have been doing to protect themselves from hacks and keep their platforms secure. Investment in fraud analytics matters. When exchanges spend money on trying to ensure their systems are robust, it helps to protect you: the user. Many platforms regularly submit themselves to security audits by independent parties, who then publish their findings and disclose the vulnerabilities they have found. Reputable exchanges will publish the outcome of these audits in full – enabling you to see …

Japanese crypto exchange Coincheck saw a 66 percent decline in revenue for Q3 2018, according to fiscal results published by the exchange’s operator, Monex Group, Oct. 29. Coincheck was acquired by Monex Group Inc. as a wholly owned subsidiary on Apr. 16, when Coincheck decided to rehaul its shareholder composition and management after $532 million worth of NEM was stolen from its wallets this January. Monex CEO Oki Matsumoto told CT Japan today the exchange is “still awaiting” a license from the regulator. Monex’s results reveal that between July and September (termed Q3 in the U.S., Q2 in the Japanese …

Hacker group “Lazarus,” reportedly funded by North Korea, has stolen a staggering $571 million in cryptocurrencies since early 2017, a study conducted by cybercrime company Group-IB reveals. Key takeaways from the study were published Tuesday, Oct. 16, alongside the full annual report, entitled “Hi-Tech Crime Trends.” The report, dedicated to hacks in 2017 and 2018, identifies the allegedly state-sponsored hacker group Lazarus as responsible for $571 million of the $882 million total in crypto that was stolen from online exchanges during the studied time period; almost 65 percent of the total sum. Out of fourteen separate exchange breaches, five have …

U.K.-based multinational security services company G4S has developed a new service for protecting cryptocurrency assets, the firm announced in an official press release Thursday, Oct. 18. G4S, formerly Group 4 Securicor, has released an “innovative security solution” for holding crypto assets in a form of high-security offline storage protecting customers from hacks. G4S also runs both prisons and detention centers, as well as stores cash for “large companies,” the Financial Times notes. According to the senior risk analyst at G4S Consulting Dominic Maciver, the new crypto assets security solution is based on a foundation of “vault storage” that is inaccessible …