Bitcoin News From Around The Web

[jdebunt]

Turbulent First Half of 2016 Pushes Bitcoin Price Over US$580

Contrary to what people expected, the Bitcoin price did not stumble in the meantime. Cryptocurrency community members know it does not matter who created Bitcoin in the end.  Bitcoin was never designed to be governed or led by one or several individuals. It is all about decentralization, distribution, censorship-resistance, and transparency.

http://fintechist.com/turbulent-2016-bitcoin-price-580/

[jdebunt]

Silk Road 2.0’s DoctorClu Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison

“The Silk Road model presents a new threat to public safety and health. The website expands the serious drug market to all reaches of the country, and indeed the world. The website reaches those who are too apprehensive to conduct a deal on the street, or those, say in rural areas, who may not have a direct drug supplier. This new frontier is dangerous—and a clear message needs to be sent that those who peddle their poison on the internet—face serious penalties.”

http://themerkle.com/silk-road-2-0s-doctorclu-sentenced-to-eight-years-in-prison/

[jdebunt]

Consumers Feel Less Than 10% of IoT Devices Are Secure

On the other hand, nearly three in four participants feel the implementing proper security measures will be the biggest challenge for IoT security going forward. It is worth noting that just connecting a device to the Internet is great, but it leaves the door wide open for assailants and hackers. These issues need to be prevented rather than remedied.

http://themerkle.com/consumers-feel-less-than-10-of-iot-devices-are-secure/

[jdebunt]

The DAO Considers Peerplays Investment In Exchange For 5% Stake

What makes Peerplays even more interesting is how the company labels itself as a DAC, rather than a DAO. This is due to Peerplays being a decentralized autonomous Co-op. By offering both stakeholder voting and distributing fees through an automated profit-sharing program, the company is making a name for itself.

http://themerkle.com/the-dao-considers-peerplays-investment-in-exchange-for-5-stake/

[jdebunt]

FBI Claims They Breached Tor Security Without Malware

Revealing the true IP address of a Tor user is next to impossible with an exploit or malware. The FBI’s network investigation technique managed to do exactly that, albeit many feel the warrant for taking down PlayPen did not give them the legal right to use the malicious or illegal software.

http://themerkle.com/fbi-claims-they-breached-tor-security-without-malware/

[jdebunt]

Blackshades Ransomware Accepts PayPal Payments For Decryption

Moreover, this is one of the very few types of ransomware that accepts payments to be made in either Bitcoin or PayPal. This latter option is of significant interest, as it far from anonymous. But so is Bitcoin, even though very few people seem to realize that. The assailants also use a Proton Mail email address from which they will send decryption instructions.

http://themerkle.com/blackshades-ransomware-accepts-paypal-payments-for-decryption/

[jdebunt]

TeamViewer Acknowledges Breach And Adds More Security Features

Moreover, TeamViewer acknowledged its software has been used for unauthorised access, and users have lost funds in the process. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the cause, and given the number of data breaches on other platforms, it is possible some customers used the same credentials for multiple services. Nothing has been officially confirmed yet, though.

http://themerkle.com/teamviewer-acknowledges-breach-and-adds-more-security-features/

[jdebunt]

Chinese 24-hour Trading Volume Nears 1m Bitcoin As Price Recovers

On the Chinese side of the scale, trading volume has been slightly dipping compared to a week ago. However, there is still over 750,000 BTC traded on a daily basis, which is far more than all of the other markets combined. Moreover, over the past 24 hours, nearly 1 million Bitcoin has been traded against in CNY markets.

http://themerkle.com/chinese-24-hour-trading-volume-nears-1m-bitcoin-as-price-recovers/

[jdebunt]

KeePass Developer Prefers Money over Security

Fixing this vulnerability would require an upgrade by Reichl, which would encrypt all web traffic. However, in doing so, he would potentially lose out on a significant amount of ad revenue, which is invaluable to smaller developers. Then again, when consumers stop using KeePass 2 due to this vulnerability, there is more at stake than just ad revenue.

http://themerkle.com/keepass-developer-prefers-money-over-security/

[jdebunt]

Tor Developer Jacob Applebaum Steps Down After New Mistreatment Allegations

Jacob Appelbaum left the Tor project on his own accord, albeit there was a thorough investigation by the Tor team before this decision was made. They talked with several of the complainants and deliberated the matter internally. Anyone who has information regarding these claims is welcome to contact Tor Project Executive Director Shari Steele.

http://themerkle.com/tor-developer-jacob-applebaum-steps-down-after-new-mistreatment-allegations/

[jdebunt]

OneCoin Affiliates Temporarily Prohibited From Editing Wikipedia Entry

Most of the proposed changes are broad revisions to the original article. A lot of the new details revolve around marketing information to make OneCoin look good, rather than the scam it is. Critical information on OneCoin especially details putting the company in a negative spotlight,

http://themerkle.com/onecoin-affiliates-temporarily-prohibited-from-editing-wikipedia-entry/

[jdebunt]

The FBI’s New Privacy Invasion Plan Involves Tattoo Tracking

It is not the first time this topic is touched upon, as the FBI partnered with NIST in 2014 to start building this tattoo database. Tattoo Recognition Technology, as this program is called, included cataloging roughly 15,000 tattoo designs in an attempt to recognize distinct patterns moving forward.

http://themerkle.com/the-fbis-new-privacy-invasion-plan-involves-tattoo-tracking/

[jdebunt]

Swift Will Cut Off Banks With Weak Cyber Security

An interesting and disconcerting statement was made by Swift chief exec Gottfried Leibbrandt this weekend. If it were up to him, all banks that are part of the payment network who have subpar security standards should be expulsed. Doing so would result in this institutions being excluded from the global interbank network.

http://themerkle.com/swift-will-cut-off-banks-with-weak-cyber-security/

[jdebunt]

The Good And Bad Sides of Deep Web Marketplaces

Albeit there are some advantages to using deep web marketplaces, there are drawbacks as well. It is possible to get scammed, and without the information on the other user, there is little to be done about it. Most platforms will also offer users to store their funds in an online wallet, which is always a risk factor. Particularly when Bitcoin is involved, users should keep funds in their own wallet until ready to complete a purchase.

http://themerkle.com/the-good-and-bad-sides-of-deep-web-marketplaces/

[jdebunt]

Chinko Project Asks Reddit How To Best Spend Bitcoin Donations

“Basically, if it’s not possible for us to turn this into donated money. Perhaps we could use it to help buy supplies online. I know I’ll probably be lambasted for not performing the due diligence and research myself.. but things are very hectic around here, and our generators don’t run on Sunday. So the batteries will be losing power soon. If anyone is willing to recommend some online suppliers of tech/gear, that might be suitable for an anti-poaching group. I’d appreciate the input.”

http://bitcoinist.net/chinko-project-reddit-bitcoin-donations/