Tag Archives: cryptocurrency

News

Diligent and Silicon Valley Directors’ Exchange Find European Boards lack solid understanding of digital assets but are building competency

Ninety-five percent of boards are actively seeking knowledge on the benefits and risks of blockchain-based digital assets like cryptocurrency and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) according to a new report released today by Diligent, the global leader in modern governance providing SaaS solutions across governance, risk, compliance and ESG, and Silicon Valley Director’s Exchange (SVDX), a non-profit organization offering educational and networking programs to boards of directors.

The report Blockchain Digital Assets: Fad, Disruption or Strategic Driver? reveals how nearly 200 global corporate directors are thinking about blockchain-based digital assets as they pertain to roles and responsibilities in the boardroom. Among other notable findings, the report highlights how well directors currently understand developing trends around digital assets and how important incorporating digital assets into strategy is to their companies’ future global competitiveness. The report is powered by Diligent Institute, the research arm and think tank of Diligent, and SVDX.

“Blockchain-based digital assets have risen on the radars of boards over the last few years, as digital currencies are adopted into mainstream B2B payment flows and central banks across the world,” said Dottie Schindlinger, Executive Director of the Diligent Institute.

“These results tell us that despite the turbulence of the industry, 40% of boards believe understanding digital assets like crypto, including its risks and benefits, will be important to their organizations’ competitiveness in the future.”

Among the top findings:

  • Boards lack solid understanding of digital assets but are building competency. Global and European Directors rated their boards’ understanding of digital assets at only a 4 on our 10-point scale, however 56% (global Directors) and 53% (European Directors) are seeking information on digital assets through their own independent research, and 54% (global Directors) and 76% (European Directors) are getting information from third-party experts or consultants.
  • Many boards view understanding digital assets as a potential competitive advantage for their company. Forty percent of directors feel the ability to understand and strategically incorporate digital assets will be important to their companies’ global competitiveness in the future.
  • The majority of directors believe regulations will soon tighten around cryptocurrency. Seventy-four percent of directors believe that the SEC and similar regulatory bodies will tighten regulation of cryptocurrency in the next 1 – 2 years.
  • Directors don’t believe regulatory hesitancy or hostility towards digital assets will damage global competitiveness. Only 27% of directors believe that perceived regulatory reticence toward digital assets in their region will damage their companies’ global competitiveness.

“The survey results point to an awareness on the part of directors that there is yet a lot to learn and understand about blockchain digital asset implications. That is the good news,” said Daniel Siciliano, Chairman of SVDX. “More challenging is the need for a clearer consistent source of helpful information (strategic and practical) for directors on this topic moving forward.”

News, Technology

University of Salford experts issue guide to metaverses for SME owners

Experts at the University of Salford have published a new guide for business owners on the pros and cons of metaverses, as more and more SMEs consider harnessing these fast-developing technologies to innovate and grow their companies.

The 170-page book explores the workings of the virtual world of metaverses and how these can help tech-minded companies in a secure way, as well as highlighting the risks involved.

It has been compiled by Umran Ali, John O’Hare and Allen Fairchild from the Greater Manchester Cyber Foundry after the trio began analysing blockchain, crypto-currencies, virtual and augmented reality, non-fungible tokens and other aspects of metaverses for a business which had approached them for technical help.

Allen said their undertaking began as a technical paper, but grew and grew as the trio delved deeper into the subject at the GM Cyber Foundry’s virtual laboratory.

Their book, Money in Metaverses, has initially been published online on the GitHub platform as an open source guide which can be updated. It may be produced in print at a later date.

Allen is a GM Cyber Foundry analyst, developer and team leader working alongside Umran, a senior lecturer in creative media, and John, who is a Bitcoin researcher and the technical director of the Octave Lab, a multi-modal immersive research system at the University of Salford. Lorena Gomez, the GM Cyber Foundry project manager, also contributed to the book.

Allen said: “At the GM Cyber Foundry, we have been collaborating with SMEs over recent years, responding to their questions about emerging trends.

“As part of this mission, we were asked about new developments in terms of the value and trust in metaverses.

“We were interested in researching this field, and our virtual lab has become bigger and bigger as new technologies have emerged, so it seemed a logical step to compile the book as a guide to businesses looking at ways to enter the metaverse world and capitalise on the opportunities available.

“The aim is to show how the technologies and software can help businesses to enable them to make an informed decision if they wish to get a foot in the door of metaverses on a global stage without compromising their cyber security.

“It looks at blockchain, Bitcoin and other crypto currencies, NFTs, Web3 and more. Metaverse technologies are extremely fast-paced, and many aspects and topics are enormously complex.

“We have exhaustively researched the emerging consensus narrative to try to figure out how these technologies might serve SMEs from a perspective of security best practice. We have also included a how-to guide to the software used in metaverses.”

Allen added that, while there are many advantages for SMEs in entering the metaverse world, there are also pitfalls of which they should be aware.

“There are many ways to get the technology wrong,” he said.

The GM Cyber Foundry is a £6m scheme which helps innovative companies to develop digital products and services in a cyber-secure way.

More than 140 business have benefited from the initiative since its launch in 2018.

It brings together experts from Manchester Metropolitan University, the University of Manchester, the University of Salford and Lancaster University to share their expertise with SMEs and help them to innovate and grow while defending data, systems and software from cyber-attacks.

In partnership with the GM Cyber Foundry, companies undertake research and development projects which are fully funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

News, Security

Egress Mid-Year Threat Report Details Scams Affecting Cryptocurrency-based Ukraine Donations, Job Seekers, Electronic Voters, and More

LONDON, UK – 18th May 2022 – Egress, the leading provider of intelligent email security, today issued its mid-year 2022 threat report offering details of emerging vulnerabilities along with insights, from the Egress threat intelligence team, about protecting employees, customers, and businesses from these specific cyberattacks.

The full report, available here: http://www.egress.com/resources/cybersecurity-information/threat-report-launch, provides comprehensive details about threats associated with scam cryptocurrency donations to war-torn Ukraine, email phishing attacks using LinkedIn to target jobseekers, a rise in sextortion phishing emails and zero-day exploits circulating on the dark web, targeting electronic voters as well as Facebook and Gmail users.

Scams Exploit Cryptocurrency-Based Ukraine Donations

Egress analysts have observed a surge in phishing attacks exploiting the war in Ukraine. Targeting individuals and organisations across the U.S. and the U.K., the emails impersonate display names and email addresses of well-known Ukrainian bodies. Examples include emails impersonating the Ukrainian Government asking for cryptocurrency donations to assist their war effort. Egress has located other emails impersonating the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence, the Aid for Ukraine charity, The United Nations, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“To succeed, these attacks must bypass email defences and get a person to act, which relies on engendering emotional reactions to the needs of refugees and children,” explained Jack Chapman, Vice President of Threat Intelligence at Egress. “If you choose to donate cryptocurrency to a cause, use a reputable source to verify its authenticity and only use publicly available cryptocurrency addresses.”

LinkedIn Impersonation Targets Jobseekers

This email attack targets individuals and organisations in the U.S. and the U.K. using spoofed LinkedIn branding. It encourages targets to click on phishing links and enter credentials onto fraudulent websites, which are scraped when the victim believes they are logging in. Once the scam is completed, the victim is redirected to the real LinkedIn site, so they have no idea their credentials have been stolen and do not take remedial action such as changing their password.

“Current employment trends such as The Great Resignation help to make this attack more convincing by flattering jobseekers into believing their profile is being viewed and expertise is needed,” said Chapman. “We advise organisations to examine their current anti-phishing security stack to ensure they have intelligent controls that engage and warn the user of the threat. Meanwhile, individuals should take extreme caution when reading notification emails that request them to click on a hyperlink, particularly on mobile devices.”

Sextortion Phishing on the Rise

Egress researchers observed a 334% increase in sextortion attacks since March 2022. In these cases, sextortion-oriented phishing emails are targeting individuals and organisations across the U.S. and the U.K. through a variety of subject lines coercing victims to panic and click through for more information. Emails use emotive, threatening language to socially engineer their victim to extort payment. For example, one email states “I don’t think this kind of content would be very good for your reputation”. The attacks follow a similar format by stating the problem, threat, ‘solution’, the deadline to comply, and futility of reporting the incident.

“Phishing attacks like these try to use our own psychology – especially shame, panic, and fear – against us,” explained Chapman. “By providing a specific deadline, cybercriminals apply pressure on victims to comply quickly. Related to these scams our advice is simple – don’t pay the ransom.”

New Threats Target Electronic Voters, Facebook, and Gmail Users

This threat is targeting electronic voters as well as Facebook and Gmail users through zero-day exploits posted to Empire Market, a DarkWeb marketplace where exploits, phishing tools, and templates are available to purchase. Egress analysts found an electronic voting exploit for sale, which allows malicious software to be loaded onto voting machines. Another offers a way to take over a Facebook account through a password reset vulnerability to harvest victim information and make further phishing attacks more believable. A third exploit targets Gmail accounts remotely via a code injection allowing attackers to access accounts, regardless of two-factor authentication.

“New zero-day exploits are being discovered all the time,” added Chapman. “Social media accounts contain a host of information about people, such as date of birth, geographic locations, mother’s surname, and more. Our advice is to stay on top of the latest threats by keeping up with advice from your threat intelligence network.”