Two offices of the United States Department of the Treasury have issued advisories on ransomware payouts, which they say pose a threat to national security. The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, or FinCEN, reminded cryptocurrency processing companies of their duty to file suspicious activity reports when they have a reason to suspect that their services are being engaged for such payouts to sanctioned individuals:
“Among these entities are digital forensics and incident response (DFIR) companies and cyber insurance companies (CICs). Some DFIR companies and CICs, as well as some MSBs that offer CVCs [convertible virtual currency], facilitate ransomware payments to cybercriminals, often by directly receiving customers’ fiat funds, exchanging them for CVC, and then transferring the CVC to criminal-controlled accounts.”
The announcements also note that while Bitcoin (BTC) remains the favorite currency of cybercriminals, there is a trend toward greater use of privacy coins. Apparently, some criminals have even offered a discount to those who chose the latter.
Recently, the Internal Revenue Service awarded two $625,000 contracts to Chainalysis and Integra FEC to develop tools that would help track the most elusive privacy coin, Monero (XMR).
The Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control’s, OFAC, statement emphasizes that some of the biggest ransomware attacks of the recent past were perpetrated by foreign actors. It stressed that the funds received as a result of such activity could be used to the detriment of U.S. national security. OFAC also restated that in addition to having a list of sanctioned individuals with whom U.S. persons are prohibited from transacting, there are certain countries and regions that are on the list as well. Financial service providers who choose to ignore those restrictions may be penalized.
Many cybersecurity experts have been saying for years that the only way to put an end to malware attacks is to stop paying the ransom. A threat analyst at malware lab Emisoft, Brett Callow, told Cointelegraph:
“Critically, ransoms must stop being paid. Attacks like this happen for one reason and one reason only: because some companies pay the criminals. If nobody paid the criminals, there’d be no more ransomware. It’s that simple.”
Yet, it appears to be the first serious attempt by the U.S. government to crack down on these payouts and those who facilitate them.
Source: cryptomoneyteam.co
Author: By TeamMMG
Galileo (satellite navigation) – Wikipedia
Fundamentals
Concepts
Technologies
Standards (history)
- v
- t
- e
Headquarters of the Galileo system in Prague
Galileo launch on a Soyuz rocket on 21 October 2011.
Constellation visibility from a location on Earth’s surface
Space Passive Hydrogen Maser used in Galileo satellites as a master clock for an onboard timing system
The European GNSS Service Centre is the point of contact for Galileo users’ assistance.
GIOVE-A was successfully launched 28 December 2005.
- GIOVE-A is the first GIOVE (Galileo In-Orbit Validation Element) test satellite. It was built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL), and successfully launched on 28 December 2005 by the European Space Agency and the Galileo Joint. Operation of GIOVE-A ensured that Galileo meets the frequency-filing allocation and reservation requirements for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a process that was required to be complete by June 2006.
- GIOVE-B, built by Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, has a more advanced payload than GIOVE-A. It was successfully launched on 27 April 2008 at 22:16 UTC aboard a Soyuz-FG/Fregat rocket provided by Starsem.
Source: en.wikipedia.org
Author: Authority control
GND: 4786376-6
LCCN: sh2009002081
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey: Bitcoin is inherently political
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey voiced his disapproval of the refusal of the CEO of major U.S. crypto exchange Coinbase to take a position concerning the Black Lives Matter movement.
Dorsey suggested in a tweet sent on Sept. 30 that Bitcoin cannot be separated from political activism, which makes Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong’s decision to not take a position on the Black Lives Matter movement pointless. Dorsey said:
“Bitcoin […] is direct activism against an unverifiable and exclusionary financial system which negatively affects so much of our society. Important to at *least* acknowledge and connect the related societal issues your customers face daily. This leaves people behind.”
The Bitcoin genesis block included the phrase “The Times 03/Jan/2009 Chancellor on brink of second bailout for banks”—referring to the Times of London’s article about bailout of banks many considered responsible for the 2007-2008 financial crisis. Considering that Bitcoin is an alternative to the banking-based financial system, there’s a great deal of political activism in that phrase.
Dorsey himself jumped headlong into political action this spring, when he announced he was creating a $1 billion philanthropic fund. While that will start by focusing on COVID-19, it will morph into two very political causes: universal basic income and girls education.
In his Sept. 27 Medium article, Armstrong explains that Coinbase does not engage with topics such as the Black Lives Matter movement because he wants the company “to be laser focused on achieving its mission.” In the post, he implicitly suggests that he is afraid engaging in societal issues could be a waste of company resources:
“There are many places that a company can choose to allocate its limited time and resources. There is never enough time to do everything, so companies need to choose what change they want to see in the world and focus there. It can take decades to move the needle on large global challenges.”
Armstrong explained that Coinbase is focused on building, which means that it is “going to focus on being the best company” that it can be. He admits that the company plans to engage with societal issues, but not Black Lives Matter as he believes it to be unrelated to the firm’s mission—which is what Dorsey argues to be incorrect.
“There are real issues that real people who use these services every day experience,” Dorsey argued. “Why would we not acknowledge and connect with our mission? Not asking for solutions, but as we connect the issues the solutions become clearer.”
However, Armstrong also said that the company does not advocate for any political cause because it is a “distraction.” He also explained that he believes engaging in such debates creates fractures within the the company. He admitted that this choice may be controversial, but he said that he believes it to be the right choice:
“I recognize that our approach is not for everyone, and may be controversial. I know that many people may not agree, and some employees may resign. I also know that some of what I’ve written above will be misinterpreted, whether accidentally or on purpose.”
That said, Armstrong added that he believes “it’s the right approach for Coinbase that will set us up for success long term, and I would rather be honest and transparent about that than equivocate and work in a company that is not aligned.”
Source: otcpm24.com
Author: News Bureau
Ethereum, Litecoin, and Ripple’s XRP – Daily Tech Analysis – October 2nd, 2020
Litecoin would need to move through the $46.67 pivot to support a run at the first major resistance level at $48.06.
Support from the broader market would be needed, however, for Litecoin to break out from $47 levels.
Barring an extended crypto rally, the first major resistance level and Thursday’s high $48.49 would likely cap any upside.
In the event of another breakout, Litecoin could visit $49 levels before any pullback. The second major resistance level sits at $49.88.
Failure to move through the $46.67 pivot level would bring the first major support level at $44.85 into play.
Barring another extended sell-off on the day, however, Litecoin should steer clear of sub-$44 levels. The second major support level sits at $43.46.
First Major Support Level: $44.85
Pivot Level: $46.67
First Major Resistance Level: $48.06
23.6% FIB Retracement Level: $45.30
38.2% FIB Retracement Level: $71
62% FIB Retracement Level: $100
Ripple’s XRP fell by 1.63% on Thursday. Following a 0.28% decline on Wednesday, Ripple’s XRP ended the day at $0.23803.
A bullish start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP rally to a late morning intraday high $0.24449 before hitting reverse.
Ripple’s XRP broke through the first major resistance level at $0.2436 before sliding to a late afternoon intraday low $0.23379.
The sell-off saw Ripple’s XRP fall through the first major support level at $0.2390 and the second major support level at $0.2361.
Finding late support, Ripple’s XRP broke back through the second major support level to wrap up the day at $0.238 levels.
At the time of writing, Ripple’s XRP was down by 0.20% to $0.23756. A mixed start to the day saw Ripple’s XRP fall to an early morning low $0.23659 before rising to a high $0.23840.
Ripple’s XRP left the major support and resistance levels untested early on.
Source: otcpm24.com
Author: News Bureau
BitMex denies CFTC and DoJ allegations, says trading will continue
Despite criminal charges from the DOJ and at least one arrest of its leadership, Bitmex promises to continue operating as usual.
In a blog post published Thursday afternoon, Bitmex lashed out at charges that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and Department of Justice filed against the exchange and its management earlier today.
Bitmex’s statement claimed that “From our early days as a start-up, we have always sought to comply with applicable U.S. laws, as those laws were understood at the time and based on available guidance.”
What exactly “applicable U.S. laws” are will likely be central to the case. Bitmex has long maintained that it does not serve customers in the U.S., though others before the CFTC and DOJ have argued that this a lie. The CFTC’s case rests on Bitmex’s failure to register with the commission as a derivatives exchange in the U.S.
The DOJ, on the other hand, argues that Bitmex deliberately failed to implement effective know-your-customer and anti-money laundering programs, in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. Both agencies assert that Bitmex had years of warning that their operations were illegal.
In its post denying the charges, Bitmex also assured users that trading will continue as usual. This is despite the fact that the DOJ arrested at least one of Bitmex’s founders, Samuel Reed, earlier today.
Tune in for Cointelegraph’s livestream on the Bitmex case starting tonight at 5:00 PM EST/21:00 UTC.
The post BitMex denies CFTC and DoJ allegations, says trading will continue appeared first on BTC Ethereum Crypto Currency Blog.
Source: cryptomoneyteam.co
Author: By TeamMMG
