Sunday, February 20, 2022 //(IG): BB //Weekly Sponsor: ISG
US report finds big weaknesses in China’s defense industry base
FROM THE MEDIA: SCMP is CCP operated - China’s reliance on hi-tech imports and potential workforce shortages in the next decade are two big looming vulnerabilities for its defense industry, according to a new report by a US think tank. In the report released last week, researchers at the Rand Corporation said other weaknesses included a lack of transparency in the massive state-owned conglomerates and – despite some advantages – single-party control over the enterprises. The report – “Assessing Systemic Strengths and Vulnerabilities of China’s Defense Industrial Base” – was commissioned by the US Congress and completed in October, 2021. The report said China was reliant on the United States and US allies in several areas, including education, raw materials, advanced components, and intellectual property. “China’s defense innovation system does not effectively transmit knowledge and information between its constituent components,” it said. “The sheer scale of China’s practices for gathering these resources – education and IP – from foreign countries indicates the country’s own view of these areas as domestic vulnerabilities.”
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Crypto-assets markets could trigger a global financial crisis.
FROM THE MEDIA: The fast-evolving crypto markets could gravely threaten global financial stability if regulators fail to take action, according to the Financial Stability Board (FSB), an international watchdog. In a report published on February 16, the FSB, which monitors financial authorities in 24 nations, reviewed potential vulnerabilities pertaining to unbacked crypto assets such as bitcoins, stablecoins as well as decentralized finance (DeFi) along with crypto trading platforms. The global watchdog, in its report, expressed concern that the scale and structural vulnerabilities of crypto markets in addition to increasing interconnectedness with traditional financial systems may cause substantial disturbance to the global economy. "Although the extent and nature of use of crypto-assets varies somewhat across jurisdictions, financial stability risks could rapidly escalate, underscoring the need for timely and pre-emptive evaluation of possible policy responses," the report noted. "Systemically important banks and other financial institutions are increasingly willing to undertake activities in, and gain exposures to, crypto assets. The prevalence of more complex investment strategies, including through derivatives and other leveraged products that reference crypto assets, also has increased," it added.
READ THE STORY: Businesstoday
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Bloodless heists in the time of crypto, SWIFT
FROM THE MEDIA: No bullets are fired nor lives risked. Presumably, the thieves sit comfortably at home in front of their computers and do little physical exertion during the course of their crime. The uncovering of a massive crypto heist in which cryptocurrency exchange Bitfinex was in 2016 robbed by hackers of 1.2 lakh bitcoins, worth about $70 million then, points to the sheer scale of such thefts fuelled by the staggering rise in the value of some virtual currencies. At today’s price, the loot is worth a staggering $4.5 billion, putting into shade many legendary bank robberies of the past. Predictably Ilya Lichtenstein and Heather Morgan, who have been arrested in connection with the Bitfinex robbery, call themselves “serial entrepreneurs” focused on bitcoin technology and the B2B space. That’s in the time-honoured tradition of the famous bank robbers who all considered themselves as artists rather than scamsters. The Knightsbridge Security Deposit robbery of 1987 is generally believed to have been the largest ever, with $97 million looted from several safe deposits in a centre in London by Italian con-artist Valerio Viccei who already had 50 cases of armed robbery against him. Viccei’s accomplice was an insider, the managing director of the centre, Parvez Latif, who needed the money to pay off his debts that he had piled up as a regular cocaine user. The story had a curious ending as Viccei, who decamped with his loot to South America, was arrested by the cops when he briefly returned to England to ship his Ferrari to his new home.
READ THE STORY: Money Control
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Criminal Whales Hold More Than $25 Billion Worth of Crypto (Chainalysis Report)
FROM THE MEDIA: Nearly 4% of the crypto whales are criminals as they possess over $25 billion worth of digital assets. The blockchain data company – Chainalysis – claimed that criminal whales represent 3.7% of all cryptocurrency whales. Those bad actors collectively own over $25 billion worth of digital assets. Cryptocurrencies have many merits, and numerous experts maintain that they represent a financial revolution. However, bitcoin and the altcoins have their critics, too. These claim that drug traffickers, terrorists, and money-launderers employ such assets in their illicit activities. In line with the aforementioned accusation, the New York-based blockchain analysis company – Chainalysis – identified 4,068 criminal cryptocurrency whales (3.7% of all) who collectively possess more than $25 billion worth of digital assets. The firm explained that every entity owns over $1 million in crypto. It is worth noting that most whales received either a relatively small or substantial share of their total balance from illegal addresses. 1,374 got between 10% and 25% of their assets from illegitimate wallets, while 1,361 obtained between 90% and 100%. Illicit funds received by criminal whales came from various sources. The Darknet (37,7%) ranked first, while scams (32.4%) held second place. Stolen funds, fraud shop, and ransomware completed the top five positions.
READ THE STORY: Crypto Potato
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At least 9.7 billion euros in crypto assets are in the hands of criminals
FROM THE MEDIA: The world’s criminals owned at least some 11,000 million dollars (about 9,700 million euros) in crypto assets in 2021. This was revealed this week by the American company Chainalysis, the world leader in expert and forensic analysis of blockchain, which has added that most of these funds are concentrated in a few accounts. According to the company, the main sources that feed the criminal wallets the name given to cryptoactive accounts associated with illicit activities, are thefts by hacking, although they can also come from scams, fraud, data kidnapping, or ransomware and the markets of the dark web. Russia, Iran and North Korea emerge as the main territories from which these actors operate. In total, crypto assets held by criminals have increased by 266% since 2020. The company highlights that most of these funds are concentrated in 4,068 accounts belonging to criminal whales, a name given to actors who receive money from illicit sources. and who have cryptocurrencies valued at more than a million dollars in their wallets. As for the origin of funds, hacking theft far outweighs other sources: at the end of 2021, total stolen funds accounted for 93% of all criminal balances, standing at around $9.8 billion ($8.6 billion). millions of euros). Funds from dark web markets are next at $448 million, followed by scams at $192 million, fraud at $66 million, and the ransomware with 30 million.
READ THE STORY: D1SN
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Cyber thief steals NFTs worth million of dollars
FROM THE MEDIA: OpenSea, a leading marketplace for NFTs, is investigating the “rumors of an exploit” involving smart contracts connected to its platform following an outbreak of panicked tweets from traders who lost valuable tokens.
According to PeckShield, a blockchain security firm that audits smart contracts, the exploit is likely phishing, through which a malicious contract is hidden within a disguised link. One of the possible sources of the link was an email about the migration process sent to all employees. In addition to the ETH held by the attacker’s address (slapped with a phish/hack warning badge by blockchain explorer Etherscan), ether worth $1.7 million, two Cool Cats, one Azuki, and three tokens from the Bored Ape Yacht Club.
READ THE STORY: Nairametrics
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Russians hide cash in ‘soft touch’ UK
FROM THE MEDIA: The “creeping tendrils of the Kremlin” have been allowed to wrap themselves around the UK and turn London into a global money laundering capital, Keir Starmer has said, as he accused successive Conservative governments of failing to act on the threat. In an excoriating attack on the government’s stance on Russian influence within Britain, the Labour leader said that the UK needed to get “our own house in order” as it unites with the west to confront Vladimir Putin. The warning comes as new figures obtained by the Observer show nearly 30,000 properties in England and Wales including mansions owned by the Russian elite are registered to companies and individuals based in the British Virgin Islands (BVI). Most of the owners are unknown after delays in a government pledge to end secret offshore ownership of property. Writing in the Observer, Starmer says greater transparency, more powerful counter-espionage measures and new anti-corruption laws are required to combat money laundering in the UK. He said that Putin deployed illicit money and influence “as a judo move that turns the openness and freedom of western democracies into weaknesses”.
READ THE STORY: The Guardian
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Russians hide cash in ‘soft touch’ UK
FROM THE MEDIA: KARACHI: The Customs Intelligence and Investigation (I&I), Karachi has unearthed cases of trade-based money laundering ahead of a review meeting on Pakistan by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The FATF retained Pakistan in the grey list in its last meeting held in October 2021 till the next meeting scheduled for February 2022. Sources in the Customs intelligence said that some culprits were indulging in dodging the authorities for sending foreign exchange abroad using the medium of banking channels for import payments. The Customs intelligence, a powerful monitoring unit of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR), has initially detected Rs8 million in two cases and started legal action. The fiscal fraud was done by Four Brothers and Hassan Steel, according to official documents made available to BOL News.
READ THE STORY: BOLNEWS
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About this Product
These open source products are reviewed from analysts at InfoDom Securities and provide possible context about current media trends in regard to the realm of cyber security. The stories selected cover a broad array of cyber threats and are intended to aid readers in framing key publicly discussed threats and overall situational awareness. InfoDom Securities does not specifically endorse any third-party claims made in their original material or related links on their sites, and the opinions expressed by third parties are theirs alone. Contact InfoDom Securities at dominanceinformation@gmail.com