Michael Stay, a former software engineer with Google and the current CTO of smart contract and decentralized application (Dapp) firm, Pyrofex, claims to have successfully hacked a zip file containing the private keys to over $300,000 in Bitcoin (BTC). In a blog post, Stay says that his journey began when he received a message from “a Russian guy” on LinkedIn about six months ago. Software engineer contacted on LinkedIn regarding paper from 2000 The Russian had read a paper authored by Stay in 2000 describing a technique that he had used to successfully attack zip files. “He had read that …

Experts suggest that blockchain technology could have been a better solution for handling coronavirus-related data in Russia. Moscow’s COVID-19 App is pulled from Google Play On March 25, an app called “Social monitoring” appeared in Google Play store. According to the app’s description, it was designed for social monitoring as well as for providing access to emergency services. Users soon noticed that the app required many sensitive permissions, including geolocation, bluetooth pairing, biometric data, and calls. Notably, the data was also being openly transmitted without encryption. The backlash against the app led to a 1-star rating on Google Play by …

The Central Bank of Russia’s (CBR) first deputy governor has said that blockchain technology is not the "universal solution," many promised it would be five years ago. In an interview with Euromoney on April 2, Olga Skorobogatova took a deep dive into the bank’s initiatives, sandboxes, and experiences with blockchain deployment. Following three years of experimenting with the Masterchain platform — a local blockchain-based network for transferring valuable financial data like mortgage accounting — Skorobogatova said, “Blockchain is a great fit for things like letters of credit and guarantees because it is essentially a technology of trust.” However, she further …

After facing multiple delays, the adoption of Russia’s major cryptocurrency law will be postponed again, now due to the coronavirus. Anatoly Aksakov, chairman of the Russian State Duma Committee on Financial Markets, says that the country’s crypto law — the bill “On Digital Financial Assets” — is now finalized but won’t be adopted before the end of the spring 2020. Russian authorities have been arguing about crypto regulation since January 2018 According to a March 31 report by Russian news agency RBC, Aksakov has admitted that previous delays in the bill’s adoption were caused by disagreement on the new asset …

Russian police have caught Bitcoin miners who were stealing $200,000 worth of electricity each month in their efforts to mine cryptocurrency. According to a statement released by the Russian Interior Ministry, a Saint Petersburg suspect has been arrested, along with nine alleged accomplices. The criminals managed to install sophisticated infrastructure that connects mining equipment to the country’s electricity supply at eight different locations, the Interior Ministry stated. Seized elements during the raids In total, the Russian National Guard seized 1,500 pieces of mining equipment, 2 million rubles, smartphones that contained incriminating messages, and 100 altered electrical meters over the course …

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has charged a Russian hacker for stealing private information, and has shut down his platform — Deer.io, which moved funds via crypto assets. The FBI shut down the Deer platform on March 24, as per a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ). The platform’s “suspected administrator – alleged Russian hacker Kirill Victorovich Firsov - was arrested and charged with crimes related to the hacking of U.S. companies for customers’ personal information,” the DoJ noted. The FBI detained the alleged infiltrator weeks ago The FBI took Firsov into custody on March 7 while …

Amid regulatory uncertainty for cryptocurrencies in Russia, a federal ministry introduced legislation that would legalize crypto and blockchain within a special regulatory environment. The Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation has reportedly prepared a draft law that would allow the testing of cryptocurrency and blockchain developments within a special regulatory sandbox. Sandbox to unlock blockchain and crypto testing in eight industries According to a March 24 report by local news agency Izvestia, the draft law was introduced to the State Duma — the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia — on March 17. Izvestia reports that …

After years of uncertainty about its cryptocurrency regulation, Russia is further confusing its proposed crypto law as the country’s central bank made yet another statement on the issue. According to a legal executive at the Bank of Russia, the country’s major but still unfinalized cryptocurrency legislation — a bill “On Digital Financial Assets” — will ban the issuance and circulation of cryptocurrencies. Alexey Guznov, head of the legal department at Russia’s central bank, revealed the news in an interview with local news agency Interfax on March 16. Issuance and circulation of crypto in the country poses an “unjustified risk” Although …

Kirill Victorovich Firsov, the alleged owner of Russian-based anonymous marketplace Deer.io, was arrested on March 7 by Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) officials at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. Court documents allege that Firsov is the mastermind behind Deer.io — a site that offered darknet-style services in exchange for Bitcoin on the normal web. The FBI estimates it has facilitated more than $17 million worth of sales. Firsov will be arraigned in New York court later this week, where he is expected to face charges for trafficking stolen information, and aiding and abetting trafficking. Deer.io hosted $17 million …

The Russian communications watchdog has launched an offensive on censorship resistant platforms, including the Telegram Open Network (TON) and privacy browser Tor. Russia’s Federal Service for Supervision of Communications, Information Technology and Mass Media — better known as Roskomnadzor — published a notice on March 3 seeking to engage contractors to research and block “anonymous darknet networks” hosting content deemed “extremist” or “restricted”. The Russian-language crypto news outlet Forklog first reported the call for contractors, after it was published by Russia’s General Radio Frequency Center. Roskomnadzor cracks down on anonymous networks Official documents list anonymous protocols, mesh networks, and Internet-of-Things …

The volume of cryptocurrency flows on darknet markets — which are involved in illegal drug and arms trafficking, remittance and transfer of illicit funds — have doubled for the first time in four years, a new report says. Accordingly, Russia has been updating its bribery and Anti-Money Laundering laws regarding cryptocurrencies to aid its burgeoning digital economy. Related: Presumed Guilty: Financial Watchdogs See Crypto as Illicit by Default Cryptocurrency bribery Bitcoin (BTC) hit the headlines in Russia after it emerged that the Russian Federal Security Service, or FSB — successor agency to the Soviet KGB — had tried to extract …

At a press conference held on Feb. 21, a representative for the National Bank of Ukraine released the results of its much-hyped central bank digital currency project called the e-hryvnia. However, the banking institution is still not certain of the impact this financial offering will have on the country’s overall financial stability as well as on its local banking market. An official statement released by the NBU clearly states that if a massive chunk of the Ukranian population were to switch to this ambitious digital currency, the nation’s banking ecosystem “may cease to be a major financial intermediary.” Furthermore, to …