May 29, 2018

Chinese Report: ‘Epic’ Vulnerabilities Discovered in EOS Blockchain, Patched Same Day

China’s largest Internet security company, Qihoo 360, has found several high-risk security vulnerabilities in EOS’s blockchain platform. These vulnerabilities would enable remote attacks on all EOS nodes, Qihoo 360 claimed on Weibo Tuesday, May 29.

Qihoo 360 writes that they reported the vulnerability to the EOS team and that the EOS mainnet will not launch until the security problems are resolved. Local news outlet Jinse, which noted that EOS asked 360 not to report the vulnerability, claimed that the vulnerabilities have been fixed on the same day, by around 2:00 pm China Standard Time.

According to 360’s Weibo post, the vulnerability would allow an attacker to use a smart contract with malicious code to open a security hole, and then use the supernode to enter the malicious smart contract into a new block, thus putting all network nodes under the attacker’s control.

Once this action has been completed, the attacker could then control the digital currency on the EOS network, obtain user’s private keys and data, launch a cyber attack, or begin mining for other cryptocurrencies.

360 describes these vulnerabilities as a new “series of unprecedented security risks” that could affect other blockchain platforms besides EOS:

“360 expressed [hope] that the discovery and disclosure of this loophole will cause the blockchain industry and security peers to pay more attention to the security of such issues and jointly enhance the security of the blockchain network.”

EOS, whose mainnet is scheduled to launch on June 2, is currently down by 2.76 percent over a 24 hour period, trading at around $11.70 by press time, according to Coinmarketcap data.

Published at Tue, 29 May 2018 10:36:38 +0000

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July 26, 2018

Vietnam’s Securities Watchdog Bans Industry from Cryptocurrency Activity: Report

Vietnam’s Securities Watchdog Bans Industry from Cryptocurrency Activity: Report Advertisement The State Securities Commission of Vietnam (SSC), the country’s stock market watchdog, has reportedly forbidden industry firms from engaging in cryptocurrency-related activities. Vietnam’s official state […]

December 20, 2017

Mining Max Pyramid Scheme Comes Crashing Down

The US-based mining platform, who cheated thousands of investors out of millions of dollars, now has to answer for their crimes after they were caught in South Korea.

The crypto industry has had its fair share of negative press over the years. However, its allure cannot be ignored. The fact that it continues to grow in price and popularity makes people want it even more. Based on its upward trajectory, who wouldn’t want a piece of bitcoin?

Money to Be Made From Mining

About 18,000 investors from over 54 countries turned to the Mining Max platform to help them capitalize on the crypto industry. The benefits they promised didn’t just stop at bitcoin though. According to the International Business Times, their high-performing mining farm in Seoul mined cryptocurrencies from different blockchains, supposedly giving these investors the option of putting their money on currencies that would offer higher returns.

About 14,000 investors are from South Korea. A total of 2,600 is from the US, 600 are from China and the rest are from Japan and other countries.

Classic Pyramid Scheme

Stay Safe Online did a review article in June this year that not only detailed their tiered ROI structure but also raised the question of whether or not Mining Max was a scam.

Even though they promised these high returns based on their mining activities, the platform’s money was actually made through a pyramid scheme. Users would have to pay to become members and then were compensated for recruiting new business.

The cracks began to show when their mining endeavors failed to make enough money to pay their lower-level investors. According to Yonhap News Agency, those higher up on the food chain were paid with funds obtained through the scam, in addition to certain expensive items.

Fraud, Interpol, and a Cool $250 Million

A total of 21 suspects were charged with fraud and violating South Korea’s law on door-to-door sales. Three other people with ties to the company, including Korean singer Park Jung-Woon, were charged with embezzlement but were not held.

Another seven co-conspirators, including Mining Max chairman, Daniel Park, its vice chairman and high-level investors have gone into hiding, but have been placed on one of Interpol’s wanted lists.

According to Yonhap, investors were scammed out of approximately $250 million, of which $80 million was spent on mining hardware. About $110 million is probably sitting in offshore accounts somewhere, while the remaining money was used to pay high-level investors, and of course, to line the pockets of the platform’s management team.

Do you think that we’ll be seeing more of these kinds of schemes as cryptocurrencies become more popular? Let us know in the comments below!

Images courtesy of AFP, Shutterstock

The post Mining Max Pyramid Scheme Comes Crashing Down appeared first on Bitcoinist.com.

April 13, 2017

Perth Mint Silver Bullion Sales Rise 43% In March

goldcore.com / By Mark O’Byrne / April 13, 2017

– Perth Mint’s silver bullion sales rise 43% in March
– Perth Mint’s monthly gold coin, bars sales fall 12%
– Gold silver ratio of 32 – 32 times more silver ounces sold
– Gold: 22,232 oz and Silver: 716,283 oz – bullion coins and minted bars sold
– Gold is 2.6% higher and silver surged 3.1% in the shortened week with markets closed for Good Friday tomorrow

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The Perth Mint’s silver bullion sales of coins and bars surged 43% in March. Silver sales climbed about 43 percent in March to 716,283 ounces from 502,353 ounces in February, according to a Perth Mint blog post.

Gold bullion coins and minted bars fell in March to the lowest since August last year. Sales of gold coins and minted bars slipped about 12 percent in March to 22,232 ounces from 25,257 ounces a month earlier, the mint said on its website.