Tag Archives: Security

New exchange leaves Bitcoin regulation up to Wall Street bankers

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“Mere hours after the Japan-based Mt. Gox seemingly vanished from the Internet, a new exchange was unexpectedly announced. SecondMarket, an alternative online marketplace currently operating the world’s largest Bitcoin investment vehicle, declared its intention to introduce a fully regulated Bitcoin trading hub. The decision to announce, according to founder and CEO Barry Silbert, was directly influenced by the turmoil surrounding Mt. Gox.  The new company will reportedly be governed by regulators and major banks, will provide clearing services, and include a self-regulatory organization, similar to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).”

http://www.dailydot.com/news/secondmarket-bitcoin-trading-mt-gox-wall-street/

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Target’s Big Credit Card Hack Might Involve Even More Retailers

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“The Wall Street Journal reports that Verizon Communications is investigating similar security breaches at two more as-yet-unnamed retailers that occurred around the same time as the massive Target credit card hack late last year. The two retailers affected by the newly-discovered attack have not yet announced the event to customers.  Verizon’s Bryan Sartin did not directly link the newly-discovered hacking events to the Target breach. But in an interview with WSJ, he hinted that the same entity might have been involved in all three retailers’ attacks.”

http://gizmodo.com/report-targets-big-credit-card-hack-might-involve-eve-1531837565

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Man poses as relative, orders friend off life support

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“A Central Florida Navy veteran’s death raises serious questions about whether a local hospital verified the identity of a man who authorized doctors to discontinue his life support.  The MacKinnon family attorney showed WESH 2 News a ‘do not resuscitate’ order Leclair signed, identifying himself as MacKinnon’s stepbrother. And on a ‘withdrawal of life support’ order, Leclair claimed to be MacKinnon’s brother. Partridge says the hospital never asked for proof of Leclair’s identity.  DeLand police say Leclair had been named beneficiary to MacKinnon’s bank account, and after the widower’s death, he collected $106,000.”

http://www.wesh.com/news/central-florida/tonight-at-6-pm-man-poses-as-buddys-brother-orders-friend-off-life-support/24677924

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Citigroup Victim Of $400 Million Mexican Fraud

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“Not for the first time, Citigroup has stepped into a mess. The problem is that the lender has been cheated out of the cash in one of the most basic businesses in banking. That should worry Citigroup’s rivals, too.  Citigroup’s latest slip emerges from the usually sleepy world of accounts receivable. This is the unit that makes short-term loans while clients wait for money owed to them by other companies to arrive. In this case, by the end of 2013, Citigroup thought it had lent Oceanografia, a Mexican oil-services firm, $585 million to cover any shortfalls while it waited for the state oil company Pemex to pay some bills.  Citigroup has now worked out that only $185 million of the invoices were valid.”

http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2014/02/28/a-maelstrom-of-fraud-without-early-warning/?_php=true&_type=blogs&_r=0

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Ponzi Pandemic: 500+ Schemes Totaling $50+ Billion in ‘Madoff Era’

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“The Ponzi Database, which was recently published at Ponzitracker.com, represents the first single comprehensive source to provide a window into the financial scourge that has inflicted irreparable damage on an investing public over the past six years.  The significant sample size also allows for a truly birds-eye view at just how widespread Ponzi schemes have become.  Indeed, in the six-year span from 2008 to 2013, Madoff’s scheme was only one of over 500 Ponzi schemes that collectively involved over $50 billion.  That’s billion with a ‘B.’ On average, a Ponzi scheme was uncovered or busted every four days in that six-year period.”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jordanmaglich/2014/02/12/a-ponzi-pandemic-500-ponzi-schemes-totaling-50-billion-in-madoff-era/

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Cyber thieves blamed for botnet Bitcoin heist: researchers

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“A gang of cyber criminals using an army of infected computers made off with at least $220,000 worth of Bitcoins and other virtual currencies, security researchers said Monday.  The researchers from the security firm Trustwave said the heist was accomplished by a botnet of computers using malware that has been dubbed ‘Pony’. The Pony botnet has infected an estimated 700,000 people or computers, allowing the criminals to control those accounts.  The botnet stole 600,000 website login credentials, 100,000 email account credentials and other secure account information.”

http://phys.org/news/2014-02-cyber-thieves-blamed-bitcoin-heist.html

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Better Bitcoin Exchanges Could Balance Out Mt. Gox Destruction

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“The Bitcoin market will bounce back with a wave of impressively professional services that are currently in their infancy. It’s horrible that Gox has managed to lose so much of their customers’ money due to their incredibly poor business practices. But for those of us who have watched the market carefully while observing the former Magic Card hub’s various failures, this is not a surprise. For those who are taking the long-view of Bitcoin, this is a large speed bump that will cause a lot of people grief for a long time; but there are bigger and better services on the way that will be able to learn from this crucial example of how not to run a Bitcoin exchange.”

http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/better-bitcoin-exchanges-could-balance-out-the-destruction-of-mt-gox

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Bitcoin vs. The Fed: Andreas Antonopoulos, Stefan Molyneux

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“Stefan Molyneux and Andreas Antonopoulos discuss the fall of Mt. Gox, the greatly exaggerated death of Bitcoin, the joy of failure within the Bitcoin economy, the incredible opportunity Bitcoin provides those without access to the modern banking system, and the difference between Bitcoin and the Federal Reserve System and fiat currencies worldwide.  Andreas Antonopoulos is the Chief Security Officer of Blockchain.info, a host on Let’s Talk Bitcoin and an expert on Information Security and Cryptography.”

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Banks Face Deadline to Upgrade ATMs From Windows XP

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“There are 420,000 ATMs in the U.S., and on April 8, a deadline looms for nearly all of them that underscores how sluggishly the nation’s cash delivery system moves forward. That’s the day Microsoft cuts off tech support for Windows XP, meaning that ATMs running the software will no longer receive regular security patches and won’t be in compliance with industry standards.  Microsoft’s 12-year-old Windows XP dominates the ATM market, powering more than 95 percent of the world’s machines and a similar percentage in the U.S.  ATMs whose operators ignore the deadline will continue to function; they’ll just become more vulnerable to malware and other attacks.”

http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-01-16/atms-face-deadline-to-upgrade-from-windows-xp

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Twin gets life for killing man to steal his Magic cards worth $100K

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“William Cormier III, a Florida man, was convicted of first-degree murder Thursday and sentenced to life in prison without parole for beating a former Pensacola newspaper reporter to death with a hammer and burying his body in a concrete-covered pit so he could steal a collection of fantasy role-playing cards worth $100,000.  In the case, prosecutor Bridgette Jernsen said Cormier was so desperate for money that he sold Sean Dugas’ cards to pay for the plastic storage container that became his concrete-encased coffin.  Prosecutors said he stole Dugas’ valuable collection of cards for the game ‘Magic: The Gathering.'”

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/twin-convicted-of-killing-man-over-fantasy-cards-worth-100k/

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