Category: bitcoin

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Criminal Gang Physically Assaulting People for Their Cryptocurrency

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, crime, cryptocurrency, extortion, law enforcement, physical security, Security technology, torture, Uncategorized

This is pretty horrific: …a group of men behind a violent crime spree designed to compel victims to hand over access to their cryptocurrency savings. That announcement and the criminal complaint laying out charges against St. Felix focused largely on a single theft of cryptocurrency from an elderly North Carolina couple, whose home St. Felix … Read More “Criminal Gang Physically Assaulting People for Their Cryptocurrency” »

Breaking a Password Manager

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, cryptocurrency, passwords, Security technology, Uncategorized

Interesting story of breaking the security of the RoboForm password manager in order to recover a cryptocurrency wallet password. Grand and Bruno spent months reverse engineering the version of the RoboForm program that they thought Michael had used in 2013 and found that the pseudo-random number generator used to generate passwords in that version­and subsequent … Read More “Breaking a Password Manager” »

Decarbonizing Cryptocurrencies through Taxation

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, blockchain, courts, cryptocurrency, essays, laws, Security technology, Uncategorized

Maintaining bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies causes about 0.3 percent of global CO2 emissions. That may not sound like a lot, but it’s more than the emissions of Switzerland, Croatia, and Norway combined. As many cryptocurrencies crash and the FTX bankruptcy moves into the litigation stage, regulators are likely to scrutinize the cryptocurrency world more than … Read More “Decarbonizing Cryptocurrencies through Taxation” »

On the Dangers of Cryptocurrencies and the Uselessness of Blockchain

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, blockchain, cryptocurrency, essays, Security technology, Uncategorized

Earlier this month, I and others wrote a letter to Congress, basically saying that cryptocurrencies are an complete and total disaster, and urging them to regulate the space. Nothing in that letter is out of the ordinary, and is in line with what I wrote about blockchain in 2019. In response, Matthew Green has written—not … Read More “On the Dangers of Cryptocurrencies and the Uselessness of Blockchain” »

De-anonymizing Bitcoin

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, child pornography, cryptocurrency, de-anonymization, Security technology, tracing, Uncategorized

Andy Greenberg wrote a long article — an excerpt from his new book — on how law enforcement de-anonymized bitcoin transactions to take down a global child porn ring. Within a few years of Bitcoin’s arrival, academic security researchers — and then companies like Chainalysis — began to tear gaping holes in the masks separating … Read More “De-anonymizing Bitcoin” »

Stolen Bitcoins Returned

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, cryptocurrency, cybercrime, fbi, law enforcement, Security technology, theft, Uncategorized

The US has returned $154 million in bitcoins stolen by a Sony employee. However, on December 1, following an investigation in collaboration with Japanese law enforcement authorities, the FBI seized the 3879.16242937 BTC in Ishii’s wallet after obtaining the private key, which made it possible to transfer all the bitcoins to the FBI’s bitcoin wallet. … Read More “Stolen Bitcoins Returned” »

Google Shuts Down Glupteba Botnet, Sues Operators

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, blockchain, botnets, cybersecurity, google, Security technology, Uncategorized

Google took steps to shut down the Glupteba botnet, at least for now. (The botnet uses the bitcoin blockchain as a backup command-and-control mechanism, making it hard to get rid of it permanently.) So Google is also suing the botnet’s operators. It’s an interesting strategy. Let’s see if it’s successful. Powered by WPeMatico

Wire Fraud Scam Upgraded with Bitcoin

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, cryptocurrency, fbi, fraud, scams, Security technology, Uncategorized

The FBI has issued a bulletin describing a bitcoin variant of a wire fraud scam: As the agency describes it, the scammer will contact their victim and somehow convince them that they need to send money, either with promises of love, further riches, or by impersonating an actual institution like a bank or utility company. … Read More “Wire Fraud Scam Upgraded with Bitcoin” »

Disrupting Ransomware by Disrupting Bitcoin

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, crime, cryptocurrency, cybercrime, law enforcement, ransomware, Security technology, Uncategorized

Ransomware isn’t new; the idea dates back to 1986 with the “Brain” computer virus. Now, it’s become the criminal business model of the internet for two reasons. The first is the realization that no one values data more than its original owner, and it makes more sense to ransom it back to them — sometimes … Read More “Disrupting Ransomware by Disrupting Bitcoin” »