Monthly Archives: August 2015

You May Soon Get Bitcoin-Bought Cannabis Delivered by Drone

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“A company near San Francisco has come up with a novel way to deliver bitcoin-purchased marijuana, via drone.  Trees, which claims to sell the ‘highest quality’ medicinal cannabis to people holding a medical recommendation, accepts payments in bitcoin alongside traditional payment methods such as cash, online bank transfer and credit cards.  A spokesperson for the company confirmed that drone deliveries were not currently available, due to local regulations. The drone delivery option, the spokesperson said, would be rolled-out in the future if and when the regulation around the flying devices settled.”

http://www.coindesk.com/drone-delivers-bitcoin-purchased-cannabis-in-california/

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Inside Barcelona’s Bitcoin Drug Lab

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“At the headquarters of Energy Control in Barcelona, Northern Spain, a nondescript envelope arrives. Hidden inside, between layers of cardboard and tape, are two fluorescent pink pills purchased from one of many eBay-style marketplaces on the dark web.  For €50-worth of bitcoin, the non-profit provides anyone in the world with a breakdown of the substances contained in their drugs – and the quantity – no questions asked.  Energy Control has been carrying out drug checking in raves and at its labs since 1998. Its dark web service, introduced in April 2014, operates under the same premise: to reduce harm among users by arming them with facts.”

http://www.coindesk.com/inside-barcelonas-bitcoin-drug-lab/

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European Court of Justice Official Proposes Bitcoin VAT Exemption

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“Citing existing exemptions for currency and money transactions in Europe’s VAT Directive, Advocate General Juliane Kokott urged the court to opt against applying a tax to bitcoin purchases and sales. She further argued that bitcoin, while not legal tender, is still a form of money.  Swedish tax officials asked the ECJ to look into the matter last June. At the time, the Skatterverket – Sweden’s tax office – challenged a court decision that ruled bitcoin transactions in the country should be exempt from VAT.  The publication of the European Court of Justice’s opinion follows the release of bitcoin VAT exemptions by various EU member states.”

http://www.coindesk.com/european-court-of-justice-official-proposes-bitcoin-vat-exemption/

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Homeland Security prompted panic withdrawals that sank Mt. Gox

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“The U.S. Department of Homeland Security seized Mt. Gox assets of around $5 million kept in U.S. bank accounts around May 2013, saying it was ineligible to operate fund transfer services in the United States.  The decision prompted clients in the United States to rush to withdraw money entrusted to Mt. Gox.  By August that year, the company appears to have incurred several billion yen in losses, leading liabilities to surpass its assets and capital on its balance sheet.  The police are also investigating whether Karpeles consolidated customer and corporate funds in a bank account held by the company and embezzled around ¥1.1 billion.”

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2015/08/04/national/crime-legal/mt-gox-ran-money-six-months-going-bust/

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Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles Arrested in Japan

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“Police arrested Mt Gox CEO Mark Karpeles today in Japan on allegations that he manipulated volume on the then-market leading bitcoin exchange platform prior to its 2014 collapse.  The formal action from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police follows escalating reports this week that Karpeles was facing criminal charges for fraud and embezzlement, and comes more than a year after Mt Gox first filed for bankruptcy protection in the US and Japan.  The news source stated that Karpeles has not yet been charged with any crimes, meaning he could be detained for up to 23 days before a formal charge without the possibility of bail.”

http://www.coindesk.com/mt-gox-ceo-mark-karpeles-arrested-in-japan/

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Tokyo Court: Bitcoin Not Subject to Ownership

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“Tokyo’s District Court has ruled that bitcoin is ‘not subject to ownership’, with a judge informing a plaintiff he could not claim for bitcoins lost in the Mt Gox collapse.  Judge Masumi Kurachi stated that, due to their intangible nature and reliance on third parties, bitcoins cannot be covered under existing law.  Kurachi’s comments, reported by The Japan Times, came during a lawsuit bought against bankrupt bitcoin exchange Mt Gox by an unnamed Kyoto resident.  Representing himself in court, the plaintiff had demanded repayment of 458 bitcoins, today worth $128,144, that were held in his account when the exchange shuttered last year.”

http://www.coindesk.com/tokyo-court-bitcoin-not-subject-to-ownership-2/

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Women posed as fake brides to scam ISIS out of $3000

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“It started a few months ago, when one of the women – whose first name is Mary (or Maryam), according to Life News Russia – got a message on a social network from a stranger.  The young man said he was from Syria. After correspondence went back and forth for a while, he invited Mary to drop everything and start a new life with the militants.  Sure, sounds great, Mary said, but no can do – I’m broke.  No problem, he said, and threw some money her way.  Mary allegedly agreed, took the money, and shut down her social media accounts.  According to Life News, the three women had other men to milk, and two other members of the Islamic State transferred more money, with similar results.”

https://nakedsecurity.sophos.com/2015/08/04/women-posed-as-fake-brides-to-scam-isis-out-of-3000/

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Firefox PDF exploit found in the wild

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“An advertisement on a news site in Russia was serving a Firefox exploit that searched for sensitive files and uploaded them to a server that appears to be in Ukraine. This morning Mozilla released security updates that fix the vulnerability. All Firefox users are urged to update to Firefox 39.0.3. The fix has also been shipped in Firefox ESR 38.1.1.  The vulnerability comes from the interaction of the mechanism that enforces JavaScript context separation (the ‘same origin policy’) and Firefox’s PDF Viewer. Mozilla products that don’t contain the PDF Viewer, such as Firefox for Android, are not vulnerable.  The exploit leaves no trace it has been run on the local machine.”

https://blog.mozilla.org/security/2015/08/06/firefox-exploit-found-in-the-wild/

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Over 4.5m records exposed as UCLA Health and CVS Health’s photo service hacked

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“University of California (UCLA) Health, which runs four hospitals, and drug retailer CVS Health’s photo service had millions of individuals’ private records exposed in a recent cyberattack, reports Reuters.  UCLA Health said that hackers breached its network on May 5, and had accessed systems that contained personal information on about 4.5 million patients and healthcare providers. On-going investigations have shown that attackers may have gained access as early as September 2014.  CVSPhoto, which offers photo printing services, noted that customer credit card information collected by an independent vendor that manages its site, may have been compromised.”

http://thenextweb.com/insider/2015/07/18/over-4-5m-records-exposed-as-ucla-health-and-cvs-healths-photo-service-hacked/

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Tesla’s first big vulnerability requires physical access to the car

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“The good news for Tesla drivers is that the attack requires physical access — Rogers and Mahaffey had to physically plug into the car’s onboard ethernet port — so it’s unlikely to be exploited at scale. Even when the remote shut down is successfully executed, the result isn’t as dangerous as it might be. When the Model S shuts down at low speeds, the parking brake is automatically engaged; at higher speeds, the car shifts into neutral, allowing the driver to steer it off the road without an abrupt stop.  Tesla has been working quickly to patch the vulnerabilities and has said it’s pushing out a full over-the-air patch to the bug later today, leaving almost no time for the bug to be exploited.”

http://www.theverge.com/2015/8/6/9108059/teslas-vulnerability-model-s-hacked

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