Wednesday, March 30, 2022 // (IG): BB //Weekly Sponsor: DiyGarage SoCal
More than $625 million stolen in DeFi hack of Ronin Network
FROM THE MEDIA: he Ronin Network announced on Tuesday that hackers have stolen more than $600 million worth of Ethereum (173,600 ETH) and $25.5 million of US dollar-pegged stablecoin USDC, making it one of the largest decentralized finance (DeFi) hacks to date. The company, which is tied to the popular blockchain game Axie Infinity, said in a Substack post that they suffered a security breach on March 23. Sky Mavis, a blockchain gaming company, built and controls the Axie Infinity game. The hack involved the compromise of Sky Mavis’s Ronin validator nodes and Axie DAO validator nodes, which allowed the threat actor to drain the funds from the Ronin bridge in two transactions. The Ronin chain has 9 different validator nodes in total and five are needed for any deposit or withdrawal. Four Sky Mavis validators and 1 Axie DAO were hacked in the attack. “The attacker managed to get control over Sky Mavis’s four Ronin Validators and a third-party validator run by Axie DAO,” they explained.
READ THE STORY: The Record
Half of Russia’s 20 Richest Billionaires Are Not Sanctioned
FROM THE MEDIA: Half of Russia’s 20 richest people have not been sanctioned over its war in Ukraine, leaving a group of super-rich, powerful billionaires free to operate around the world without legal restriction. In total, tycoons worth a total of least $200 billion before the war started have been hit by sanctions. Yet the list of who’s blocked –and who’s not – reveals a patchwork pattern of cross-border penalties that has spared many Russians with business interests in key global markets, a Bloomberg News analysis shows. The attempt to isolate Russia from international finance and pressure President Vladimir Putin – while minimizing spillover to the global economy – has seen the U.K. sanction 10 of the richest billionaires and the European Union nine. By contrast, the U.S. has sanctioned just four. Only three men feature on all three lists, with four of Russia’s five richest men not sanctioned anywhere. They are led by the country’s richest man, Vladimir Potanin, a metals magnate who was worth $30 billion on Feb. 18, the final day of data before sanctions began rolling out three days later. The richest sanctioned Russian on the list is Alexey Mordashov, the controlling shareholder in Severstal PJSC, Russia’s fourth-largest steelmaker, who had his assets frozen by the EU on Feb. 28 and by the U.K. two weeks later.
READ THE STORY: Bloomberg
Russian supply chains next in line for sanctions
FROM THE MEDIA: The United States and its allies plan new sanctions on more sectors of Russia’s economy that are critical to sustaining its invasion of Ukraine, including military supply chains, Deputy US Treasury Secretary Wally Adeyemo said on Tuesday (29 March). Adeyemo, speaking in London on a European trip to consult with allies on strengthening and enforcing sanctions to punish Russia, said the broadening of those efforts was aimed at undermining “the Kremlin’s ability to operate its war machine.” The Treasury last Thursday slapped new sanctions on dozens of Russian defense companies, from makers of ammunition, missiles and helicopters used in the Ukraine invasion to radar and imaging systems firms. The sanctions freeze any assets they may have under US jurisdiction and prohibit American entities from any transactions with them. “In addition to sanctioning companies in sectors that enable the Kremlin’s malign activities, we also plan to take actions to disrupt their critical supply chains,” Adeyemo told an event at the think tank Chatham House.
READ THE STORY: EURACTIV
Russian-owned superyacht seized in London is owned by Motiv Telecom founder
FROM THE MEDIA: A £38mn superyacht, detained by police at London’s Canary Wharf on Tuesday morning under the UK’s sanctions regime against Russia, is ultimately owned by the founder of Motiv Telecom, a small mobile phone network in the Urals region, the Financial Times has established. Described by friends as an “EU citizen”, Vitaly Vasilievich Kochetkov owns the 58-metre Phi through Portsmouth Maritime, a Kitts & Nevis company that in turn controls a Malta-registered yacht charter business, Hexagon Yachting Limited. The Russian businessman owns two other superyachts, Aurelia and Phi Phantom, which are also both Malta-flagged and are currently moored at Porto di Imperia in Italy, according to documents seen by the FT. The UK government said it had seized the vessel under the Russian sanctions regime, although Kochetkov is not on any sanctions list. It did not name him and only disclosed that the vessel belonged to a “Russian businessman” as it hailed the seizure of the first superyacht in UK waters as part of the sanctions.
READ THE STORY: FT
Chinese envoy warns of consequences of indiscriminate sanctions over Ukraine conflict
FROM THE MEDIA: A Chinese envoy on Tuesday warned that indiscriminate sanctions over the Ukraine conflict will bring about new humanitarian problems. "The ever-escalating sweeping and indiscriminate sanctions have hit global energy, food, economics and trade, and financial markets, and will continue to do so, affecting the lives and livelihoods of the general public, and giving rise to new humanitarian problems," Dai Bing, China's deputy permanent representative to the United Nations (UN), told a Security Council meeting on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine. Developing countries, which make up the majority of the world, are not parties to this conflict, and should not be drawn into the confrontation and forced to suffer the consequences of geopolitical clashes and sparring among major powers, he said. Right now, global food security is being seriously challenged, which warrants due attention. Sanctions and economic blockades will only artificially exacerbate food shortages and price distortions, further disrupt food production and the food supply chain across the world, push up food prices, and put burdens on developing countries, he said. "We call for enhanced international coordination to stabilize food supply and food prices, refrain from unjustified export restrictions, keep the market working in a stable manner, and ensure global food security."
READ THE STORY: CGTN
Cryptomining criminals are focusing on the cloud
FROM THE MEDIA: Cloud-based cryptomining has evolved into a vibrant form of cyber crime, and a variety of attack groups are fighting each other for access to cloud accounts. Cryptomining groups hack victims' cloud computing accounts, using their computing power to mine cryptocurrency, explained Trend Micro in its latest report. The research, called 'A Floating Battleground: Navigating the Landscape of Cloud-Based Cryptocurrency Mining', warned that victims stand to lose more than the cost of higher cloud computing bills. Cryptomining attacks either use cloud GPU resources, which offer better mining performance, or compromise CPUs at scale, the report said. The latter requires compromising as many instances in a cloud account as they can to mine as much digital currency as possible. Trend Micro ran XMRig, which mines the Monero cryptocurrency, on its own cloud instance and saw CPU usage jump from 13% to 100%. That would increase electricity costs from $20 to $130 per month, and running that on multiple instances would spike cloud bills considerably. While some attack groups use cryptomining as their main source of income, others focus on selling on access to cloud accounts and only mine while they're waiting for a buyer. Groups will often fight each other for cloud resources, using kill scripts to wipe out each others' malware
READ THE STORY: ITPRO
Canadian crypto coalition launches in bid to fix digital currency’s image problem
FROM THE MEDIA: Crypto has an image problem, but a new Canadian industry coalition is hoping to change that. Launched on Tuesday by 11 blockchain companies and digital asset exchanges, the Canadian Web3 Council hopes to give this country’s cryptocurrency industry a single voice, in a bid to convince local, provincial and federal governments to take the technology more seriously and embrace a national strategy for it. Considering all the high-profile crypto-related hacks, instances of shoddy business practices at exchanges, stories of market manipulation and the documented use of digital currencies to facilitate crime, it is not difficult to understand why the sector’s reputation is tarnished. The council’s members say this is why it has become important to destigmatize crypto, by educating people about its technological applications and economic potential. The group hopes this will lead to new policies and fewer restrictions for the industry.
READ THE STORY: The Globe and Mail
'People are dying' — Canada must expose dirty money now
FROM THE MEDIA: With Russia's attack on Ukraine there’s more pressure on Canadian politicians to finally track down the corrupt people who have long used Canada as the easiest democracy in which to park illicit wealth. So, with the recent crackdown on Russian oligarchs who prop up Vladimir Putin, experts say it is urgent that Canada finally and rapidly make it possible to track the trans-nationals who secretly ship ill-gotten money into this country through a process dubbed “snow-washing.” Corporate lawyer Kevin Comeau, an expert on money laundering, says “it’s terrific“ that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has announced an agreement with NDP leader Jagmeet Singh to speed up the deadline for a publicly accessible registry to identify the real owners of companies, particularly those invested in real estate. It was three years ago that Trudeau first promised a national corporate ownership registry, which would be searchable by name. The Liberals slated it to be up and running by 2025. Now, in the light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the pledge is that the registry will be active by next year.
READ THE STORY: Vancouver Sun
State Regulators Crack Down on Voyager Digital's Crypto Interest Offering
FROM THE MEDIA: Securities regulators in at least seven U.S. states are scrutinizing Canadian crypto investments firm Voyager Digital over its offering of interest-bearing crypto accounts, Director of the Alabama Securities Commission Joseph Borg told CoinDesk Tuesday. The states – New Jersey, Alabama, Oklahoma, Texas, Kentucky, Vermont and Washington – believe Voyager Digital's "Earn Program" accounts may be unregistered securities, he said. They coordinated to file separate legal actions (including at least one "cease and desist") against the publicly traded firm. "The thrust is to say, 'OK guys, it's time to come to the table," Borg said in a phone call. The effort continues a yearlong battle by U.S. states to bring crypto interest accounts under their regulatory domain. BlockFi was the first company to fall under their microscope last July. It ultimately settled with state and federal regulators after paying a $100 million fine and promising to register its product as a security.
READ THE STORY: Coindesk
There’s A New NFT Scam On The Block: Here’s What We Know
FROM THE MEDIA: A Bored Ape sold for 115 DAI ($115) in what appears to be either a mistake, tax fraud, or a potential NFT scam. The same owner also sold Mutant Ape #11670 for 25 DAI ($25) to the same buyer. The floor price for Bored Apes is currently 102.69 ETH ($350,000) and the floor for Mutant Apes is 22 ETH ($75,000). On Monday, OpenSea user “cchan” supposedly sold a Bored Ape and a Mutant for DAI instead of ETH. DAI is a stable coin pegged to the US dollar. That is to say that 1 DAI always equals 1 USD. Whereas ETH is currently trading at around $3,400. What is interesting about this whole thing is that the previous owner “cchan” had to approve DAI on his MetaMask wallet to be able to accept these two offers. The ‘approve’ transaction can be found here. This suggests it could have been a potential deliberate move. However, when reached out to by The Block, the previous owner said he is “in the process of figuring it out as well.” He also proclaimed that he did not initiate any transactions on his account.
READ THE STORY: NFT Evening
Items of interest
CPA PLEADS GUILTY TO MONEY LAUNDERING IN $722 Million CRYPTO PONZI SCHEME(Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: A Former Certified Public Accountant (CPA) Recently Plead Guilty to Helping BitClub Architect Launder Funds in $722M Ponzi Scheme. The 57-year-old Nevada man pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return. The Defendant, Gordon Brad Beckstead, 57, admitted to helping the architects of the scheme – which defrauded investors of about $722 million over five years – cover their tracks. The Department of Justice on Thursday issued a Press Release that stated Beckstead’s tax hijinks shorted the government of $20 million federal income taxes. The Defendant pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of aiding in the preparation of a false tax return. He faces up to 23 years in prison, as well as a fine.
Don't fall for these crypto and NFT scams(Video)
FROM THE MEDIA: President Biden signed an executive order this month calling on Congress to examine the risks and benefits of cryptocurrencies. With digital assets expanding in the global economy, it's becoming more important to be aware of ways people are being victimized in the marketplace. CBS News tech reporter Dan Patterson joins CBS News' Meg Oliver and Tanya Rivero to discuss what he calls new tech, but old scams.
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