Xavier Becerra, California's attorney general, recently told the public to watch out for possible crooked dealings surrounding crypto and digital assets. While broadly referencing other hacks, an Aug. 7 statement from the California Department of Justice said: "Recently, unscrupulous actors have impersonated well-known politicians, celebrities, and business executives on social media and YouTube channels in 'giveaway' scams that falsely promised, for example, to double any digital assets sent to a specific digital asset wallet." The comment, in part, refers to the recent July 15 Twitter attack, which saw a large number of influential accounts breached, including Joe Biden and Elon …

Law enforcement authorities in Kyrgyzstan have reportedly detected an illegal cryptocurrency mining farm on the territory of a local free economic zone (FEZ). The State Service for Combating Economic Crimes, an anti-corruption service in the Kyrgyz Republic, has reportedly discovered a large-scale mining farm at FEZ Bishkek. Kyrgyz authorities posted a video of the facility on YouTube on Aug. 7. Government officials are involved During on-site inspections, local enforcement officials found crypto mining devices connected to electricity and the Internet. According to local news agency 24.kg, authorities have launched an investigation into the origins of miners and energy sources. Members …

A new video takes viewers through German financial technology company Wirecard’s journey from being one of the top businesses in the world to one who’s shares plummeted by more than 98% before filing for insolvency. In an Aug. 6 video posted to YouTube by ColdFusion, Australian host Dagogo Altraide retells the story of how the Wirecard scandal began when auditors were unable to locate more than $2 billion that was supposed to be sitting in the FinTech firm’s Philippines-based accounts. The Wirecard board later admitted that the funds likely did not exist. “This was a tale of liars, accounting manipulation, …

The FDA-approved Coronavirus ventilator manufacturer Boyce Technologies has been targeted by ransomware launched by the DoppelPaymer gang, who are threatening to leak data from the company. Cointelegraph has viewed the DoppelPaymer blog, where the gang lists example files of the data stolen during the attack, including sales and purchase orders, assignment forms, among others. The cybercriminals have threatened that more information will be disclosed next week through the site if an undisclosed crypto ransom is not paid by the firm. Boyce Technologies is well-known for its work in designing and manufacturing FDA-approved low-cost ventilators in just 30 days during the …

After a lengthy joint investigation with the American FBI, German police have seized over 25 millions euros worth of cryptocurrency associated with the illegal movie streaming site movie2k.to. Shuttered in spring 2013 due to copyright infringement concerns, the site’s two main operators are accused of having distributed over 880,000 pirated copies of films, together with their accomplices, via the site between fall 2018 and spring 2013. They have been charged with operating an illegal streaming service, which enabled users to watch pirated films without downloading them. One of the two, who worked as the site’s programmer, has been in police …

Scammers have conned more YouTube viewers into sending them Bitcoin after hacking several more large verified accounts and posting ‘free giveaway’ videos. According to an Aug. 5 tweet posted by Jon Prosser, his Front Page Tech YouTube channel with 262,000 subscribers was hacked by bad actors who changed the name to “NASA [news]” and began live streaming a fake Bitcoin (BTC) giveaway video featuring SpaceX’s Elon Musk. “Hackers have made $4,000 in Bitcoin so far,” said Prosser. “YouTube tells me I need to fill out a form and wait ‘a few weeks.’” Seven years’ worth of Front Page Tech’s videos …

Multinational corporation Canon reportedly fell victim to a ransomware attack launched by Maze group against its email and storage services and its United States website on July 30. Maze has threatened to leak the pics and data if a crypto ransom is not paid. The image.canon site was out for six days, during which it showed updates. It went back into service on Aug. 4. Canon put out a statement that day about the attack, saying there had been no leak of image data, nor thumbnails of the photos stored in its cloud service. However, the severity of the attack …

The alleged dealers involved in “Chemical Revolution” — Germany’s largest darknet narcotics marketplace — will stand trial today. The high number of initial defendants in the case has meant the trial is being held in a congress hall in Giessen, central Germany, large enough to accommodate the proceedings. While seven defendants are standing trial today, a total of 11 persons were arrested back in June 2019 in connection with the case. They were charged with selling vast quantities of drugs — including MDMA, amphetamine, heroin, cocaine and cannabis — to consumers in exchange for Bitcoin (BTC). State prosecutors in Frankfurt …

Scott Melker, also known as the "Wolf of All Streets," says he was the victim of a SIM swap attack in February but managed to avoid losing any crypto assets. In a Aug. 4 post on Melker’s website titled Security Tips And Lessons Learned From My Hack, the trader said he was able to protect access to his bank accounts, credit cards, and crypto exchanges after a hacker assumed his identity by tricking his phone carrier and diverted Melker’s communications to the hacker’s phone. According to Melker, the hacker had access to his number and text messages — which would …

Crypto exchange Bitfinex is offering up to $400 million to anyone who can lead it to the hackers who stole over 120,000 Bitcoin (BTC) in August 2016. According to the company’s post on Aug. 4, it is even willing to reward the hackers themselves. The people behind the 2016 attack breached the security systems of Bitfinex and managed to complete around 2072 unauthorized transactions. The company clarified that this is its “latest effort” to recover these stolen funds. Bitfinex explained how the reward will work: “Those who put Bitfinex in contact with the hacker will receive 5% of the total …

Cybersecurity firm McAfee released a study showing the activities of NetWalker, a ransomware first known as Mailto that was initially discovered in August 2019. According to the report, the operators of NetWalker have collected over $25 million from ransom payments since March 2020. From March 1 to July 27, the group collected around 2,795 Bitcoin (BTC), purportedly making it one of the most profitable types of ransomware for cybercriminals. According to the report, the Bitcoin transactions received by the gang — where the amount is split among several different addresses — reflects that NetWalker is a "ransomware-as-a-service" malware. Such a …

Also awaiting charges in the United States and Russia, suspected Bitcoin money launderer Alexander Vinnik could be facing a trial in France first. According to news agency Agence France-Presse (AFP), a Paris judge has ordered the Russian national to stand trial for extortion, money laundering, criminal association, and fraudulently accessing and modifying data in data processing systems. The AFP stated French authorities have accused Vinnik of defrauding more than 100 people out of $160 million between 2016 and 2018. Vinnik, also known as "Mr. Bitcoin," is accused of laundering 300,000 Bitcoin (BTC) — roughly $3.4 billion at press time — …