Colonial Pipeline paid hackers a ransom of $4.4 million in bitcoin soon after discovering a cybersecurity hack on its systems that began on May 6. The company’s acknowledgement comes after days of speculation about whether a ransom was paid to the hackers. The company’s CEO defended the “difficult” decision to pay the ransom, maintaining he
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Privacy Tip #271 – Getting In on the Cryptocurrency Frenzy? Assess Risk of Theft First
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips
Oh, if I had just bought that Bitcoin when I first thought about it a decade ago…I might risk a flight to Fiji right now, which is on my bucket list, even in the midst of the pandemic. Alas, I didn’t, because I assessed the risk first and made my own decision. Yes, I lost…
A Hackers ‘Shipageddon’ Has Set Sail: Beware of Fake Shipping Messages
By Kathryn Rattigan on
Posted in Data Security
As the holiday shopping season comes to end, consumers should still be aware that hackers are sending fake delivery notifications appearing to come from companies like FedEx and UPS, especially as the last few days of package arrivals pass by. The hackers’ messages prompt consumers to enter their personal information like credit card information to…
New York Department of Financial Services Issues Report on Recent Twitter Hack
By Robinson+Cole's Data Privacy + Cybersecurity Team on
Posted in Enforcement + Litigation
You probably heard about the recent hack of Twitter accounts that took place on July 15, 2020. The hackers took over several prominent Twitter accounts, which resulted in a scam that netted over $118,000 in bitcoin for the hackers. One of the most startling things about the cyberattack was that it was led by a…
Sodinokibi Hackers Switch Payment Mechanism to Monero
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity, Virtual Currency
The hackers behind the Sodinokibi/REvil ransomware have reportedly switched their demands for payment from Bitcoin or Ethereum to Monero cryptocurrency to try to prevent law enforcement from tracking payments.
The hackers reportedly advertised the switch in a posting to an online hacker and malware forum, and admitted that the switch from Bitcoin to Monero is…
Ransomware—to Pay or Not to Pay and Should We Get a Bitcoin Wallet Just in Case?
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in New + Now, Virtual Currency
There’s nothing worse than paying criminals. And paying a ransom for data is just that—paying criminals for a criminal act. All you get out of the payment is access to your data. It doesn’t fix the vulnerability or the root problem. Let the record reflect that the FBI does not recommend paying ransoms to cyber…
Privacy Tip #199 – Guard Your Cryptowallet: Cryptoheist in Japan Drains $32 million from Exchange
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Privacy Tips, Virtual Currency
The U.S. government continues to be wary of cryptocurrency, and presently, no cryptocurrency exchange is protected by the FDIC. When you put your money in a FDIC-insured bank, if the bank becomes insolvent customers will not lose their deposits, usually up to a maximum of $250,000 per depositor per insured bank. But if you deposit…
Bitcoin Firm Alleges Manipulation of the Bitcoin Cash Network that is Alleged to Have Resulted in a $4 Billion Industry Meltdown
By William Daley on
Posted in Blockchain, Virtual Currency
United American Corp., operating as UnitedCorp, filed a lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida last Thursday alleging that several prominent figures in the Bitcoin cryptocurrency market essentially “hijack[ed] the Bitcoin Cash network” causing widespread harm to U.S. Bitcoin holders. In the twenty-seven page, and one hundred and twenty-two paragraph complaint, UnitedCorp takes aim at bitcoin miner Bitmain Inc. and its owner Jihan Wu, well-known bitcoin investor Roger Ver and his company Bitcoin.com, and the Kraken Bitcoin Exchange, among others, claiming that they attempted to “centraliz[e] what is intended to be a decentralized transactional system enabling the corruption of the democratic and neutral principles of the Bitcoin Cash network.” …
Continue Reading Bitcoin Firm Alleges Manipulation of the Bitcoin Cash Network that is Alleged to Have Resulted in a $4 Billion Industry Meltdown
Ryuk Ransomware Targets Large Businesses With Large Ransoms
By Linn Foster Freedman on
Posted in Cybersecurity
A new ransomware, dubbed “Ryuk,” has surfaced in the last few weeks that is said to be targeting large organizations in the United States.
The attackers behind Ryuk have reportedly made over $640,000 in just two weeks, and are allegedly connected to the well-known hacking group out of North Korea—Lazarus.
According to security company Check…
States Race to Embrace Blockchain Technology
By Benjamin Jensen on
Posted in Blockchain
Add Connecticut, Ohio and Vermont to the list of states passing legislation focused on the potential disruptive impact of blockchain – the technology underlying cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin. As federal regulators continue to monitor and offer guidance in the cryptocurrency space, with particular focus on Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs), state legislatures around the country are…