Category Archives: Cryptocurrency

Hackers recently took control of a group of HP-branded servers and used them to remotely mine a cryptocurrency called raptoreum, according to reports. This resulted in the compromised cluster of HP machines becoming the biggest contributor to the total mining pool of the cryptocurrency, allowing attackers to rake in $110,000 worth. The coins are said to have been mined between December 9 and December 17.

A group of HP servers operating for an undisclosed company was attacked by hackers that managed to take control of the hardware and repurpose it to mine cryptocurrency. The crypto chosen by the hackers was called raptoreum, a coin in the top 1,000 by market cap that takes advantage of an algorithm called Ghostrider, blending PoW (proof-of-work) and PoS (proof-of-stake) consensus mechanisms.

The server cluster started mining raptoreum on December 9, and at the time, it provided more hash power than all other parties combined on the Raptoreum blockchain. This allowed the attackers to rake in more than $110,000 worth of raptoreum in the period between December 9 and December 17.

The server group disappeared from the Raptoreun network on December 17, an indication that they could have been patched to eliminate the threat after it was detected.

The attack used a recently discovered vulnerability called Log4shell, which allows attackers to gain control of a system remotely. Log4shell uses Log4j, which is a registry library used widely in Apache-based systems. This vulnerability was discovered in early December, and in this case, it was leveraged to pass the execution of a crypto mining software.

The vulnerability has been classified as critical by its discoverers due to how common its utilization is, even when it comes to massive operations like Microsoft and IBM. While the software has been patched in some of its implementations, investigators are still discovering new ways in which it can be leveraged. It was recently discovered that the software is also vulnerable to local attacks, meaning that the servers can be executing code remotely without being connected to the internet.

During the first half of this year, cryptojacking attacks have decreased for the first time since 2018, according to a report titled Cloud Thread Report, issued by Unit 42, a security consulting firm. However, in a follow-up report, the firm also found that 63% of third-party code templates used in building cloud infrastructure contained insecure configurations that could lead to losing control of the hardware.

What do you think about the attack on HP-branded servers to mine raptoreum? Tell us in the comments section below.

Sergio is a cryptocurrency journalist based in Venezuela. He describes himself as late to the game, entering the cryptosphere when the price rise happened during December 2017. Having a computer engineering background, living in Venezuela, and being impacted by the cryptocurrency boom at a social level, he offers a different point of view about crypto success and how it helps the unbanked and underserved.

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Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. It is not a direct offer or solicitation of an offer to buy or sell, or a recommendation or endorsement of any products, services, or companies. Bitcoin.com does not provide investment, tax, legal, or accounting advice. Neither the company nor the author is responsible, directly or indirectly, for any damage or loss caused or alleged to be caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, goods or services mentioned in this article.

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HP-Branded Servers Hijacked to Mine $110000 Worth of Cryptocurrency Bitcoin News - Bitcoin News

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Digital currency will not displace cash, said a Banxico member.

Mexico has a law that regulates cryptocurrencies since 2019.

The Bank of Mexico (Banxico) seems to open the doors to the adoption of central bank digital currencies (CBDC, for its acronym in English).

According to a statement by the deputy governor of the financial institution, Jonathan Heath, the Aztec nation is preparing everything to launch its own digital currency in 2024.

We are working on a project, we even have a schedule where we think that maybe by the end of 2024 at the latest, we should have it operating perfectly well, Heath said, according to a local media.

This announcement coincides with the statements made by the newly appointed governor of Banxico, Victoria Rodrguez Ceja, in early December. The official told the Finance and Public Credit Commission of the Mexican Senate that the financial body was in the analysis of the implementation of a CBDC.

International authorities, given the interest that these virtual assets and their evolutions have aroused, have recognized the need and potential to extend the functionalities of legal tender through the potential implementation of digital currencies issued by the Central Bank, indicated Eyebrow.

It should be noted that Mexico has one of the first laws in the region that regulates collective financing, management of electronic payment funds and the commercialization of cryptocurrencies. The so-called Fintech Law was enacted in 2019, a fact reported by CriptoNoticias.

Heath also spoke about the coexistence between a digital currency and cash.

In that sense, the official assured that lThe bills and coins will not be displaced by the CBDC, since in Mexico a large part of the economy is informal. He also indicated that there is low financial inclusion, that is, there are few people with access to traditional banking.

The deputy governor of Banxico, Jonathan Heath, assured that the digital currency will work at the same time as cash. Source: Atomazul / stock.adobe.com

We are going to have the use of paper money as the predominant payment at the national level for a long time, so we do not want to be absent from these technological advances; we are there, we are going to do it and we are going to be working, added Heath.

The statements of the Banxico authorities may come as a surprise, after last October, the president of Mexico, Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador, said that his government hopes to remain orthodox on financial matters.

According to Lpez Obrador, his government should only ensure that the countrys income is maintained and ensure proper tax collection, avoiding evasion. In addition, he assured that you dont need to be looking for innovation.

Made it clear that will not follow the path of countries like El Salvador regarding the adoption of bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, as reported by CriptoNoticias.

While digital currencies, such as the one announced by Mexico, can benefit nations and businesses in cross-border trade, under these there is the risk of loss of privacy. These digital currencies are not anonymous and governments can take advantage of their use to exercise control over the population. They can also be confiscated by the state.

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Mexico would have its national cryptocurrency by 2024 - Central Valley Business Journal

More than fifty countries have placed bans on cryptocurrency, according to a report from the Law Library of Congress. The November report served as an update to research that was published in 2018.

Since 2018, the number of countries found to have issued cryptocurrency bans has increased significantly, the report said. As of November 2021, nine countries have placed an absolute ban on crypto, meaning that its completely illegal. Algeria, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Nepal, Qatar and Tunisia have all joined China in outlawing crypto.

China first made the decision to ban crypto trading in 2017. The country extended its ban to block crypto mining earlier this year.

42 more countries have issued implicit bans prohibiting banks, lenders and other financial institutions from dealing with crypto. These countries include Georgia, Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

The report also found that the number of countries subjecting crypto to tax laws, as well as anti-money laundering and counter-financing of terrorism laws, has jumped from 33 in 2018 to now 103. With the exception of Bulgaria, all of the member states of the European Union currently have these regulations in place.

21 countries, however, dont apply any form of anti-money laundering or counter-terrorism financing law to their crypto industries, including Brazil, Jordan, Pakistan and Kazakhstan.

In other tech news, a Sony employee allegedly stole $154 Million USD from the company and converted it to Bitcoin.

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More Than Fifty Countries Have Bans on Cryptocurrency - HYPEBEAST

North Korea has hacked USD 1.7B of crypto and views the loot as a long-term investment. Experts say that Pyongyang is going long on its take of tokens, rather than quickly trading them for cash.

According to Newsis and Chosun, the US federal government prosecutor issued statements saying that North Korean hackers have been conspiring with other money-laundering criminals to steal crypto-assets from at least three digital asset exchanges before laundering the proceeds.

According to data from Asan Institute for Policy Studies (AIPS), a US blockchain firm that analyses the crypto market and is headquartered in South Korea, there have been different cases of cryptocurrency exchange attacks. The attacks connected to North Korea include the Slovenian platform attack in 2017, the Indonesian raid in 2018, and the latest York hack in 2020.

Both the South Korean authorities and US experts blame Pyongyang for the 2017 attack on Bithumb and a $281 million attack on KuCoin. Seoul also claims the North was behind the attack of South Korea-based YouBit crypto exchange, which closed after the second attack.

In 2018, experts in Seoul and Washington insisted Pyongyang trained 20 cyber warriors and commanded them to storm western and western-associated cryptos with impunity.

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The big challenge facing North Korea now is to liquidate their stolen cryptocurrency. Their tactics typically involve moving coins to different wallets-like changing from Ethereum to bitcoin. North Koreans tactics keep developing with time.

The peel chain tactic involves moving money in fast and automated transactions from one bitcoin wallet to a new address through hundreds or even thousands of transactions. They do this in a way to both hide the source of money and lessen the risk of indicating red flags.

The Asan Institute for Policy Studies (AIPS) Senior Research Fellow, Koh Myung-hyunat, said: Considering the fact that the price of bitcoin (BTC) has risen over 60 times since 2017, when North Korean hackers started hacking cryptocurrency exchanges, North Korea is using the stolen cryptocurrency from the perspective of long-term investment. For North Korea, cryptocurrency has become the only financial asset that can be gained while it is under tight economic sanctions, and [recognizes its value] for sanctions evasion-related purposes.

Finally, after monetizing the tokens, North Korea wants to use the money to put up an eagerly awaited coastal tourist attraction and a new general hospital in the capital.

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North Korea has hacked $1.7 billion worth of cryptocurrency from exchanges, considers it a long-term investment - BanklessTimes

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Looking for a last-minute holiday gift? Theres an option that lets you sidestep supply chain shortages and potential shipping delays, and only requires a few clicks of a button: cryptocurrency.

After a year thats seen cryptocurrency explode in popularity, you wouldnt be the only person to buy friends and family cryptocurrency for the holidays. One in 10 people are gifting crypto this holiday season, according to a recent survey by BlockFi.

Well-known coins like Bitcoin and Ethereum both hit record highs in November, though they have dropped in price since then. Its become easier for everyday investors to buy digital assets through platforms like Paypal and Venmo, and trade them via apps like Robinhood and popular exchanges like Coinbase. Many of these platforms have made crypto gift giving even simpler, promoting specific features and functionality for their users.

While crypto is a popular unique gift idea this year, there are some things you should consider before giving it as a gift, experts say.

Gifting crypto is a lot like gifting a lottery ticket, for starters. The gift could be a huge success for your loved ones or it could go to nothing, says Grant Maddox, an independent CFP based in South Carolina.

Then theres the question of whether your intended recipient is even interested in crypto. Some people may not want to incorporate cryptocurrency into their portfolio, and see no value in owning it, says Chris Chen, a financial advisor with Insight Financial Strategists in Newton, Massachusetts.

But if you still decide to give crypto as a gift this holiday season, what crypto you choose to give can go a long way toward whether it has potential value to the recipient, or is more of a novelty gift. If youre giving a piece of Bitcoin or Ethereum, I think youre getting closer to actually giving something of value to someone, Chen says. And at that point, its starting to resemble a gift of a share of stock or something.

There are thousands of cryptocurrencies, so youre going to have to decide which youre going to give, and how much. Bitcoin reigns supreme as the crypto of choice for gifting and receiving, with Dogecoin and Ethereum coming in as second and third, according to BlockFis data. But as with any new investment whether youre giving it or receiving it its important to do your research, and understand all of the risks.

As more everyday investors wonder how cryptocurrency might fit into their portfolio, experts recommend sticking to Bitcoin and Ethereum, and following the 5% rule that is, dont contribute more than 5% of your portfolio to risky assets like crypto. Its also recommended to treat it as a long-term investment, but you should never invest in cryptocurrency at the expense of other financial priorities, such as saving for emergencies and paying down high-interest debt.

Heres what to consider if youre giving crypto as a gift this holiday season, or find yourself on the receiving end of such a gift.

Crypto is a high-risk, high-reward investment. In other words, theres a chance your crypto sees big value growth for years to come. But theres just as likely a chance it loses its value entirely, leaving you with nothing but the experience. If youre giving crypto as a gift, you might want to make sure the recipient understands these risks of owning and investing in cryptocurrency.

Just take a look at Bitcoin: It reached an all-time high of over $68,000 in November 2021 after starting the year at just under $30,000. Meanwhile, Ethereum has shot up from about $737 to around $4,000, depending on the day. And it isnt unusual for either of them to lose 15% of their value in an afternoon.

While volatility can be a big downside to gifting crypto, it can equally be an upside depending on your perception of crypto, says Chen. If you got Bitcoin, it could go through the roof or through the floor. There are people out there who say that Bitcoin is the future of Bitcoin and Bitcoin is going to take over. And if thats the case, then the value horizons for Bitcoin are infinite.

As long as youre giving less than $15,000 worth of crypto, it falls under the 2021 gift tax allowance. That means you wont have to worry about any tax implications that come with the gift.

If you give me any crypto that is $15,000 or less, theres no tax implications, says Chen. If you give me crypto that is worth $30,000, then the difference between 15,000 and 30,000 is taxable as a gift, and is taxable to you as the person whos giving it.

Despite the gift tax allowance, recipients may have to pay taxes on their crypto in the future. It depends on the cryptos capital gains or losses when the gift recipient sells or transfers it basically, how much value their holdings gained or lost in a given period. Thats because the IRS treats virtual cryptocurrencies like property for tax purposes, similar to other assets like stocks or gold.

So if you receive crypto as a gift, you may still owe taxes on it even if you sell it immediately after its been given to you, depending on whether its increased or decreased in value.

If your crypto gains value over time, youd experience a capital gain when you sell or transfer it. The amount of time you own it plays a role in how much youll owe in taxes, too. Any crypto held for less than a year is a short-term gain. If you own it for more than a year, its a long-term gain. These differences can affect which tax rate is applied. The tax rate also varies based on your overall taxable income, and there are limits to how much you may deduct in capital losses if your crypto asset loses value.

Of course, there is a bright side to owing taxes related to crypto. If you have to pay taxes, that means that you have made money, says Chen.

The opposite of a capital gain is a capital loss. If your losses exceed your gains, you can deduct up to $3,000 from your taxable income (for individual filers).

If you are a DIY tax filer, refer to the Form 8949 to reconcile your capital gains and losses, and then report them on your Form 1040 tax return using Schedule D. Theres additional information and tools on the IRS website to help you determine your crypto-related tax liability, and how to report it on its website.

Keeping a detailed transaction history will come in handy come tax season, whether you file your own taxes or work with a tax pro. As a new and evolving asset class, expect lots of changes to how crypto is regulated in the coming years, and seek out tax professionals who have experience and familiarity with digital assets for an even smoother filing process.

Once you decide to give cryptocurrency as a gift, youll need to figure out how youre actually going to send it. While cryptocurrency has been a popular gift this year, many people lack information on how to actually do it, according to BlockFis data.

Two common ways to give crypto are through gift cards that can be redeemed for crypto or sending it directly to someone via an exchange from one crypto wallet to another. If you already have a crypto exchange you like, that might be the best place to start since it comes with the benefit of first-person experience that can be shared with your recipient.

But both the gift giver and the recipient will need a crypto wallet or exchange account to complete the transaction, which can be a little more complicated. If youre giving crypto to someone who doesnt already have an account or wallet, theyll need to set one up to receive the gift.

Crypto gift cards involve third-parties that can increase the complexity for both the recipient and the sender. Whatever route you go, take care to understand and share what will be needed of your recipient to successfully receive the gift.

Fees are another thing to consider, which are often charged per transaction, and can differ whether youre the seller or the buyer. There are many different fees depending on which currencies you trade, so its important to understand exactly how and when an exchange can charge you for your crypto transactions.

Coinbase doesnt charge for transferring crypto from one Coinbase wallet to another, for example. But the recipient will be charged a fee if they sell or move their gifted crypto off of the Coinbase platform, which could eat into the value of the gift. The transaction costs are pretty high in general, says Chen.

Crypto has been popular this year, but plenty of people still have no interest or limited knowledge of it. If youre sending cryptocurrency to someone who has never owned the digital currency, you may want to consider whether they will be interested, or if it could just end up unclaimed as is the case with so many gift cards that ultimately go unused.

Theres nothing wrong with giving or receiving crypto, says Chen. You just need to be clear as to what you can do with it.

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Cryptocurrency Is a Hot Gift Idea This Year. Here Are 5 Things You Should Think About if Its on Your List - NextAdvisor

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The idea of making a profit out of digital currency trading and the prospects of it making a person millionaire has taken the World by the storm. Before drowning yourself in the universe of crypto trading, you need to understand how you can really get benefits out of it. Are these digital assets worth any value or not? How does one really get able to make money from the trading process? All this and much more are quite necessary to get a hang of before you actually start trading it.

A cryptocurrency is basically a form of digital money, which is also known as virtual currency or token money. Using it, you can sell and buy products from those who accept it as a valid form of currency. This currency comes in varied types, including Bitcoin (probably the most famous of them all), Cardano, Ethereum, and many more. Each of these currencies has its own value and works by its own set of rules. As of now, Bitcoin is the most widely accepted version of cryptocurrency that has its traders all across the globe.

Moving one step ahead, crypto enthusiasts use cryptocurrency not merely for buying or selling merchandise but also to trade it. There are various platforms that help in facilitating this exchange, which makes trading cryptocurrencies easier! One can trade it with fiat currency as well as with other kinds of digital currencies as well. Hence, you can opt for two manners when it comes to cryptocurrency:

The major factor behind the success of cryptocurrency is the fact that it has established itself as a reliable investment possibility, blockchain technology backs it and this has aided it in developing a positive hype around it. It's mainly due to its reliability that it is trusted even by the biggest mainstream investors all across the globe.

The transactions that this form of business offers is straightforward. Compared to general trading, crypto trading doesnt require you to go through a web of brokers, legal representatives, and agents. Rather, to ease the complications regarding transactions, one-time transactions and peer-to-peer facilities are offered to those who are interested in this trading.

This reduces plenty of brokerage fees and commissions. It further cuts the middle man, minimizing all the chances of confusion. Hence, resultantly, the trading procedures are swift with clarity on who should pay whom and in what manner and way.

Confidentiality is the key to all business transactions. While dealing with banks and managing your business through your legal bank account, the credit agency gets involved in every transaction of yours. Apart from this, to opt for bigger deals and intricate financial transactions, you may also need to furnish your financial history. This affects your confidentiality to a great deal.

While trading cryptocurrency, no such hassle is required. Rather, as the deal happens strictly between two parties, each entity can maintain a high level of confidentiality easily. The PUSH method of information exchange further helps in transmitting and sending the trading amount to the recipient, directly. With no intermediary involved, you end up making all your transactions in great confidentiality.

Going by the normal and regular route, the international trade procedures may end up with a plethora of intricacies. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are not subject to exchange rates. Special levies and interest rates can't be imposed by a country. Hence, it makes the trading uniform for everyone.

Blockchain technology further makes transactions and transfers easier even if they are across the border. The peer-to-peer mechanism surely adds smoothness and ease in the transactions, without being affected by the fluctuations of currency. An authorized transaction can keep your data safe in blockchain and ensures that the trader can make international connections smoothly.

Contrary to popular belief, cryptocurrency is quite secure. It is a well-protected manner of trading, which provides a shield against fraud. An authorized transfer of cryptocurrency can't be reversed! In case a buyer and seller want to refund the amount after a mistake, the agreement would require a special clause for that matter!

By now, you must have understood the top benefits of investing in cryptocurrencies. So, in which currency are you going to invest?

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Benefits That Make Cryptocurrency Worth Taking The Risk! - nativenewsonline.net

There are several cryptocurrencies that I think could be winners in the new year. Avalancheand Solanaare definitely on the list. Kadenajust might be a breakout success.

But if I had to choose only one digital coin to scoop up over the next few weeks, there's another one that stands out.Here's my top cryptocurrency to buy before 2022.

Image source: Getty Images.

In some ways, investing in cryptocurrencies is like the wild west -- exciting yet dangerous. But amid the thousands of digital coins on the market, I think there's one that offers at least some level of stability plus solid growth opportunities.

Compared to most cryptocurrencies,Ethereum (CRYPTO:ETH) is practically a blue chip pick. Blue chip stocks are well known. They're leaders. And they've shown that they can stand the test of time. Ethereum isn't a stock, of course, but it checks off these boxes more than any cryptocurrency other than Bitcoin (CRYPTO:BTC). And I think Ethereum has better prospects than Bitcoin.

Ethereum ranks as the second-largest cryptocurrency by market cap (behind only Bitcoin). Since its launch in 2015, its native Ether token has skyrocketed more than 143,000%. That's more than three times Bitcoin's lifetime return.

The primary advantage of Ethereum is its support for smart contracts. It's not just a cryptocurrency; it's an ecosystem. Thousands of applications are built on the Ethereum blockchain. They include more than 40 of the 100 top cryptocurrencies based on market cap.

I think that Ethereum's momentum could pick up in 2022 for two main reasons. First, a major upgrade is on the way. Second, I expect many more apps will be built on the Ethereum platform that drive the price of the Ether token even higher.

Despite Ethereum's incredible success so far, its blockchain does have an Achilles' heel. Actually, it has two of them. Ethereum is slow, with a capability of processing only between 15 and 45 transactions per second. Its transaction fees are also high, so much so that some have left the platform for other blockchains.

However, significant progress on the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade should be made in 2022 and into 2023. This upgrade is expected to boost the processing speed to up to 100,000 transactions per second. It will also slash the transaction fees.

Billionaire Mark Cuban thinks that Ethereum could be a monster winner next year as important new apps are developed on the platform. I suspect that the Shark Tank star is right. Cuban is personally pushing for carbon offsets to be monetized on the blockchain. That does appear to be a great fit for Ethereum, particularly with the 2.0 upgrade coming.

Regardless of the investment, it's wise to look at the potential downsides. Ethereum might be a relative blue chip compared to most cryptocurrencies, but it's still risky.

If the economy hits a rough patch, investors could turn to less volatile assets than cryptocurrencies. A major sell-off in cryptocurrencies would almost certainly pull Ethereum down in its wake.

Rival blockchains could hinder Ethereum's gains. For example, some have called Solana an "Ethereum killer" because of its faster processing and lower fees. Others think that the growing adoption of Cardano, Avalanche, or Polkadotcould hurt Ethereum.

I think this scenario could be more likely if there are major delays with the Ethereum 2.0 upgrade or if the upgrade doesn't go well. That's a distinct possibility. The third phase of this upgrade was expected to occur in 2022 until a few days ago. Now, the timeline has been pushed back to "sometime in 2023."

My view, though, is that the prospects for big returns with Ethereum outweigh these risks. I expect that it will have another strong performance next year.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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Here's My Top Cryptocurrency to Buy Before 2022 - The Motley Fool

The craze around cryptocurrencies mainly Bitcoin and Ethereum has inspired a massive number of startups to create their own digital coins and attract investors interest in the fast-growing digital asset class.

While there are plenty of cryptocurrencies in circulation with respect to their unique utility and value, in this story we explore the weirdest and silly coins that have surfaced over the past several years.

Dogecoin was created in 2013 by software engineers Billy Markus and Jackson Palmer as a faster but fun alternative to Bitcoin. It was started as a satire on the numerous fraud crypto coins that had sprung up at the time, and takes its name and logo from a Shiba Inu meme that was viral several years ago.

Unlike Bitcoins, whose maximum possible number is fixed at 21 million (a figure that is estimated to be reached by 2040), Dogecoin numbers do not have an upper limit, and there are already more than 100 billion in existence.

When the crypto coin first took off, the online community that was backing it invited attention by supporting unconventional causes, such as sponsoring Jamaicas bobsled team at the 2014 Winter Olympics.

Also that year, the Dogecoin community gave $55,000 worth of the digital token to a Nascar driver in the US. Doge also has an ardent supporter in Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who frequently tweets have added to the digital tokens mania. Musk had once changed his Twitter bio to Former CEO of Dogecoin. Other celebrities, including rapper Snoop Dogg and rock musician Gene Simmons, have also promoted it on social media.

Potcoin, as the name suggests refers to a network that facilitates buying legal marijuana. Itis a digital currency that allows consumers to buy and sell cannabis products anonymously.

The digital coin provides a banking solution that brings marijuana businesses and consumers together on a decentralized peer-to-peer platform, allowing participants all around the world to make secure transactions.

Interestingly, on June 12, 2017 the Potcoin community sponsored Dennis Rodman, an American former professional basketball player and an unofficial US Peace Ambassador to North Korea to visit North Korea and negotiate peace between the United States and Kim Jong-un. While it is unclear if this endeavor effectively promoted the pacifist values of the community, but it proved to be highly profitable for the notoriety of the coin and the project as a whole. otcoins community grew 600 per cent overnight.

There are a number of cannabis-focused coinsincluding CannabisCoin, KushCoin, Bongger, Ganjacoinpro, and others.

Kodak, is the latest company to step into the cryptocurrency bandwagon. The camera company announced Kodakcoin at an event in January to manage digital image rights and to pay photographers for image usage. The camera maker even announced a new Kodak KashMiner mining rig to go with it.

The digital coin will work with Kodak One, a new platform that is supposed to help photographers license their images.

Dentacoin is a cryptocurrency for the global dental industry. The company in a blog post notes that it is on a mission to improve oral health globally using:1. a preventive, smart contract-based dental assurance model2. a set of dental apps, incentivising beneficial user behaviour3. a functioning cryptocurrency, used for rewards and payments

Founded in 2017, the Netherlands-based Dentacoin Foundation is the autonomous organization behind the Dentacoin blockchain-based solutions and the same-named cryptocurrency. The legal structure of the Foundation ensures the proper execution of the mission and protects users interest as it functions solely.

Trumpcoin describes itself as a cryptocurrency supporting the Trump administration and its followers which it calls Patriots. The Trumpcoin in a blog post describes itself, as staunch supporters of Trump who love Freedom, God, Family and feels a sense of pride in contributing to society, and stand firm against leftist groups and intimidation.

The blockchain company notes that 200,000 of the six million available Trumpcoins have been set aside for donation to the Trump administration once the currency reaches a substantial value.

Trumpcoins counterpart: the Putincoin, is a cryptocurrency named after the Russian President Vladmir Putin. The decision to develop a cryptocurrency dedicated to Russia was made to support the fast growing Russian economy and market within the country and beyond its borders.

Putincoin, on its website highlighted that with the coin a lot of possibilities will be provided for businesses, traders, private persons, social and economic projects. The present and future technology, services and apps are and will always be free to use.

Burger King, one of the biggest fast-food chains in the world has introduced the Whopper Coin. The cryptocurrency was launched by the Russian branch of Burger King as a loyalty program in the summer of 2017.

This was an initiative of Burger King Russia, and the idea was that for every Russian rouble spent in a Burger King outlet, customers were given a Whoppercoin.

This Whoppercoin can be used to buy, well, a Whopper. If the customers have 1700 Whoppercoins, the company allowed customers to buy Burger Kings flagship sandwich.

Shiba Inu (SHIB) is an Ethereum-based cryptocurrency that featuresa Japanese breed of hunting dogas its mascot. The cryptocurrency is widely considered to be an alternative to Dogecoinin fact, proponents of Shiba Inu tout it as the Dogecoin killer.

According to Shiba Inu founder Ryoshi, it earned the nickname the Dogecoin killer because the value of SHIB is primed and ready to overtake the value of Dogecoin. Ryoshi adds that even if SHIB never hits $0.01, SHIBs publicity and utility mean that it will be worth proportionately more than Dogecoin.

Crypto enthusiasts and experts are still grappling to come to terms with the SHIBs all-time high market capitalisation which has now surpassed some major Indian companies such as Adani Enterprises, Tata Steel, and Tech Mahindra. With a market capitalisation of more than $38 billion, Shiba Inu is now the 11th largest cryptocurrency.

Garlicoin is a memecoin started in 2018,, based on garlic bread memes. It used to be extremely popular but still retains a large community with some loyal followers who continue to support and try to expand it.

A community of Reddit users thought it would be funny to create a cryptocurrency inspired by garlic bread, and so they did. Garlicoin is created by mining, and has a total supply cap of 69 millions.

Mooncoin was conceived primarily for frequent, global micro-transactions, hence its maximum supply of 384 billion coins. This number was derived from the calculation of one coin for every millimeter between Earth and the Moon. Its also got its own programming language called MoonWord for decentralised app (DApp) coding and blockchain record-keeping.

Comparisons have often been made between Mooncoin and Dogecoin, and there are some similarities. Both were created at roughly the same time period, and both are meant for quick micro-transactions. Also, both are taken from a Litecoin concept, as all three use the Scrypt algorithm, which is faster and more complex than Bitcoins SHA-256 mining equipment protocol.

However, a noteworthy distinction exists in basic coin supply structure: Dogecoin has no maximum circulating coin supply (i.e., infinite supply), whilst Mooncoin has a maximum cap on the total possible number of coins, making it deflationary and attractive as a store of value.

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From Shiba Inu to Pot and Putin the bizarre world of cryptocurrency names - The Indian Express

There are few guarantees in the IT industry, but one certainty is that as the world steps into 2022, ransomware will continue to be a primary cyberthreat.

The dangers from ransomware have risen sharply since WannaCry and NotPetya hit the scene in 2017, and this year has been no different. A pair of recent reports underscores just how big that threat is.

The Global Threat Landscape Report released in August by FortiGuard, the threat intelligence unit of Fortinet, found that the weekly average of ransomware incidents over the previous 12 months had jumped 10.7 times. In Fortinets Global State of Ransomware Report in September, two-thirds of companies surveyed had been victims of ransomware attacks and 85 percent said they were more concerned about ransomware than any other cyberthreat.

The sharp increase in ransomware attacks can be attributed to many reasons, from the low level of cyber hygiene of some enterprises to insufficient training and education of employees and patch management issues, according to Derek Manky, chief of security insights and global threat alliances for Fortinets FortiGuard Labs. Cybercriminals dont have to work too hard to get into these systems. When they do, the payoff can be huge, particularly as attackers are setting their sights on larger companies.

One constant in all this will be cryptocurrency, the coin of the realm when it comes to ransomware. The big payoffs, the tendency of most victims to pay the ransom demand, and the money to be made by selling or leasing their malware in the growing ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) market are all enticements when it comes to ransomware.

The engine that is driving much of this is cryptocurrencies, which have become the way ransoms are paid and are creating the financial foundation for the rapid evolution of the ransomware market, the skyrocketing increases in incidents and the growing numbers of bad actors getting into it, Manky told eSecurity Planet.

There is no doubt a parallel rise here that were seeing, he said. It is because of the cash cow. Cryptocurrency really is fueling this in a sense. If you were to take cryptocurrency away from that, they dont have a convenient digital platform. Theyre going to have to go back to the drawing board. It actually makes their operations more expensive because they need to try to be innovative and get more boots on the ground themselves, just like any business would if they dont have a platform.

Fortinet ransomware detections

Also read: The State of Blockchain Applications in Cybersecurity

Compounding all this is that ransomware is a vicious circle, Manky said.

Once you have that lower state of security and attackers are getting into systems, theyre forcing the hands as a means of enterprises to pay the ransom, he said. When theyre paying the ransom using cryptocurrency, its encouraging cybercriminals. Its making their pockets deeper. They dont have to do a heavy lift to reap profits like theyre doing today.

The use of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum and myriad others harkens back to the days of e-gold, another digital currency launched in the 1990s that included the use of online accounts. E-gold use peaked in the mid-2000s before it was suspended in 2009 for legal reasons. As cybercrime became more about monetization, cybercriminals began leveraging the currency for money laundering, fraud and other schemes, he said.

Between the demise of e-gold and the rise of cryptocurrency, bad actors used a number of different ways to move money, including gift cards. They would steal credit cards to buy gift cards and then use those to be cashed out and sold to other people, Manky said.

Also read: Best Ransomware Removal Tools

The rise of cryptocurrency has had a ripple effect throughout the cybercriminal world, Mansky said. When it first hit the scene, the primary targets of threat actors were the cryptocurrency exchanges themselves. The payouts for hackers were significant; when they hit an exchange, they had access to hundreds of cryptocurrency wallets. However, exchanges began strengthening their security, which made attacking them more expensive, so cybercriminals shifted tactics and began increasingly to target users.

Instead of robbing a bank, theyre going to the victims themselves, Manky said.

For the past five years, there has been cryptomining, where bad actors infect systems with malware that leverages the CPUs to mine for coins, essentially crowdsourcing stolen CPU power. More recently has been crypto-jacking, where hackers go directly into a users wallet and steal their coins.

This also has shifted the attack vector and opened up end users to greater threats. Attackers no longer are going after one target, he said. They may get into a system to steal digital wallets, but once a system is compromised, its open to other attacks.

Its a new form of crypto-jacking, essentially, but these are always multi-purpose in a sense, because in order to install that malware, they need what we call a loader, he said. They need a channel into that system. They do this through taking advantage of cyber-hygiene practices, social engineering, all those things we talk about. But once theyve infected these systems, theyre compromised, and oftentimes we see a lot of secondary attacks happening. Its just more and more volume and attack angles.

Fortinet: Top ransomware concerns

Cryptocurrency is enabling cybercriminals to enrich themselves beyond what had been possible. They not only can get paid more money for their actions, but the nature of the payments allows them to add more layers to their operations, making it more difficult to trace payments. It operates like cash in many ways. It makes hiding and laundering the payment easier.

They can actually print their own money, he said. They can print cryptocurrency on a piece of paper. All it is is a big hash address, a cryptographic algorithm, and they can transfer it that way. They can transfer it on a USB stick. They can transfer it physically on a piece of paper and put it into a briefcase and give it to somebody else. Once they have that and the actual keys for it, the moneys theirs. Its literally physically transferring a wallet to a wallet.

And they have multiple coins to choose from. They can be paid in Bitcoin and wash the payment by shifting to Ethereum or other exchanges. It makes it difficult for investigators, who dont have only one coin to follow, Manky said, adding that the bad actors can fork that to 100 different alternate coins.

Also read: Best Ransomware Removal and Recovery Services

The profits threat actors are reaping are helping to fuel the rise of a more sophisticated and well-armed hacker that is able to build greater expertise on the backend, so they have the capability to launch larger and more complex attacks.

We see cybercriminals now that lie between whats typically been nation-state attacks and nation-state capability in terms of sophistication like zero-days and these sorts of things thats now in the realm of cybercriminals, too, he said.

More money begets more sophisticated operations and methods think ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) and that leads to not only more sophisticated campaigns but also more attackers. With RaaS offered by highly sophisticated groups, less skilled people can leverage such services to launch attacks.

All these cryptocurrency-fueled trends including the greater sophistication of cybercriminals driven by massive profits, the promise of payoffs and the expanding numbers of threat actors who can launch attacks has helped fuel the growing global problem of ransomware.

U.S. lawmakers, who this year have become more involved in the problem of ransomware as critical infrastructure including energy systems as seen in the attack on Colonial Pipeline and food supplies via the campaign as global meat processor JBS also are seeing the link between ransomware and cryptocurrency.

In October, several senators and representatives sent a letter to the departments of Justice, State and Homeland Security urging them to address among other things the role of cryptocurrencies in the rise of ransomware attacks, noting the anonymity the digital currencies give attackers.

Its important for enterprises to understand that link as well, Manky said. A key is prevention and protections like backing up data because once ransomware is in a system, they are forcing many companies that have few other options to pay in cryptocurrency. The exchanges put in protective measures, which drove up the cost to cybercriminals of attacking the exchanges. Given the increasingly distributed nature of IT, its important for enterprises to think about prevention and resiliency in a similar way.

If we dont do that its going to be very bleak, Manky said. Its going to continue to fund these cybercriminals. Their pockets are going to get deeper. Their capabilities are going to become more sophisticated. They have businesses of their own and like any business, as it grows, they add more and more people, more partners. In the 90s, it used to be one person. Then it was a handful of people. Now were seeing 50, 100 people with partners, even thousands in some of these organizations. Thats a big problem.

Further reading: Best Backup Solutions for Ransomware Protection

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The Link Between Ransomware and Cryptocurrency | eSecurityPlanet - eSecurity Planet

There is no end to the uncertainty in Indias cryptocurrency sector as the country seems to have delayed, once again, framing a law that will signal its policy approach to the rapidly growing field. The government is reportedly considering changes to the proposed bill.

The legislation has been in the works for more than a year now. It had been listed for the ongoing winter session of parliament, which ends on Dec. 23, and was also listed in the budget and monsoon sessions earlier this year.

The reasons cited for the delay include the need for wider consultation due to the evolving cryptocurrency regulation across the globe.

This is in consonance with prime minister Narendra Modis comment at the virtual Summit for Democracy hosted by US President Joe Biden on Dec. 11. We must also jointly shape global norms for emerging technologies like social media and cryptocurrencies so that they are used to empower democracy, not to undermine it, Modi had said.

Indias lawmakers, media reports said, are also looking at the Reserve Bank of Indias (RBI) central bank digital currency (CBDC).

Indias central bank has been voicing its concerns over the potential threat to financial stability and the countrys macro-economy from cryptocurrency.

While the government seems inclined towards regulation and not a ban, the RBI hasnt budged from its stance.

In a detailed presentation to its central board on Dec. 17, the RBI reiterated that such a complete ban was necessary, according to The Economic Times newspaper.While RBI did not reveal the details of the presentation, it said various aspects of CBDC and private cryptocurrencies were discussed.

It cited challenges to the RBIs foreign exchange management and regulation of virtual assets that originate offshore as reasons for seeking a ban. This, essentially means the anonymity of such transactions is a problem.

On CBDC, the RBI said it is working on two typeswholesale and retailand plans to run a pilot test for whichever is completed first.

A lot of work has been done on wholesale-based CBDC while retail is somewhat complicated and will take more time, RBI deputy governor T Rabi Sankar said in a post monetary policy press conference on Dec. 8.

Link:
What is the current status of India's Cryptocurrency Bill? - Quartz India