A foundation, closely associated with Telegram, called the Open Network (TON), is pursuing ambitious expansion in the United States. A strategic move like this comes amid the expectation that Donald Trump's upcoming administration will be able to offer a more favourable regulatory environment. The TON Foundation is proud to announce a pivotal leadership transition: Manuel "Manny" Stotz, an experienced investor and blockchain advocate, has been selected as President of the organisation.
There is a new chapter in the foundation's journey to accelerate global adoption of the blockchain, emphasising expanded operations in the United States as part of a strategic expansion plan. In a statement released by a spokesperson for the TON Foundation to Cointelegraph on January 14, a spokesperson confirmed to the Cointelegraph that the US will become one of the most important markets for TON under the Trump Administration.
The TON Foundation has recently appointed Manuel Stotz, one of the world's leading digital asset investors, as its new president. The foundation will be able to expand its operations in the U.S. market with Stotz, the founder of Kingsway Capital Partners. Stotz stated that the U.S. would soon become a global crypto centre specialising in innovation. Steve Yun, who will remain a board member, will resign from the presidency, and he will be taking over the CEO role.
In light of the trend that a new president in the US is expected to provide a more favourable environment for cryptocurrency, this shift reflects this expectation. It is expected that his administration will address some of the most important regulatory issues on the day of his inauguration, which is scheduled for January 20, among crypto supporters. Among the concerns is how digital assets are treated by banks, with many in the crypto sector hoping that a change will happen in the rules regarding whether they will be accounted for as liabilities.
In addition to the issue of “de-banking,” which has impacted many crypto firms in the U.S., another issue that may be addressed is the issue of blockchain technology and its prospects. It has been Stotz's honour to serve as a board member of the TON Foundation since it was founded in Switzerland in 2023. With his new role at the TON Foundation, he will replace Steve Yun, who remains on the board. Stotz is a major investor in the digital asset industry and is the founder of Kingsway Capital Partners, an investment management firm.
There have been over 50 projects backed by the firm, among them Animoca Brands, Blockchain.com, CoinDCX, Toncoin, Genesis Digital Assets, and others. In the TON Foundation's opinion, the changing regulatory environment in the United States offers new opportunities for blockchain technology. Notably, several industry participants are optimistic about the incoming administration's pro-crypto stance, which includes plans for creating a national Bitcoin reserve and promoting blockchain-based economic reform.
As President-elect Trump has also indicated his desire to advance the field by appointing influential figures, such as Paul Atkins and David Sacks, to key positions in the sector, it is anticipated that these developments will lead to a surge in blockchain and artificial intelligence innovation. TON Foundation president Stotz believes that these developments may signify a turning point for the industry as a whole, and he believes that the US is an important market for accelerating blockchain adoption worldwide.
A decentralised project called TON is closely related to Telegram's TON blockchain, which was developed by the messenger and then turned into a decentralised project. The Toncoin token allows the network to provide 950 million Telegram users with services such as in-app payments and games, and with Stotz's leadership, TON plans to increase its user base and integrate blockchain-based solutions into everyday applications under Stotz's leadership.
The main objective of the fund is to use Telegram's vast global audience to promote the widespread adoption of blockchain technologies. With the TON Foundation, which is dedicated to supporting the development of the TON blockchain, Telegram's 950 million users will have access to crypto services through Telegram's platform. In 2023, Telegram formalised the foundation in Switzerland, a year after a 2020 settlement with the SEC ended Telegram's earlier fundraising efforts.
It was announced in December 2024 that the foundation would be expanding to Abu Dhabi following the ADGM's distributed ledger technology framework. This move is intended to provide legal backing for decentralised projects throughout the MENA and APAC regions, with a target of reaching 500 million users by 2028. In the crypto industry, the return of Trump to power could be considered a turning point in the market as a result. He has announced that cryptocurrencies will be treated differently in the United States of America than they were in the past, which could result in more blockchain projects coming into the country in the future and increased innovation in decentralised technologies.
Despite this change in leadership at the TON Foundation, the organisation continues to adhere to its mission and values even during this transition and continues to follow through with its objectives. As a board member of the foundation, Steve Yun provides ongoing leadership and direction and Manny Stotz plays a pivotal role in helping to make it a place for growth, collaboration, and innovation in the future. TON anticipates milestones to be achieved in the US over the coming months, which will further enhance the company's reputation as one of the leading blockchain companies in the world.
In January 2024, when the Securities and Exchange Commission approved various Bitcoin ETFs in the United States, the worldwide crypto market had a 70% price increase, bringing more than $11 billion into the industry. BTC ETF options for US markets were announced in November 2024, resulting in increased retail and institutional investor inflows into the crypto markets. This contributed to the global crypto bull run.
Blockaid, Ingonyama, Tres, Oobit, and Fordefi are all part of Israel's cryptocurrency ecosystem. In January 2024, Israel had 24 "unicorns". These are private enterprises worth more than $1 billion. Then there's Starkware, a leader in the Ethereum scaling field, which has reached a $20 billion valuation since the creation of the $STARK token.
According to a recent yearly assessment, Tel Aviv has the fifth most attractive startup ecosystem in the world. Despite geopolitical uncertainties, the crypto community will undoubtedly increase. These are cryptocurrency enthusiasts, after all.
Israel has traditionally inspired the technology sector, so it was logical that the blockchain would find its place here. The country has a strong emphasis on education, research, and development, as well as a surplus of technical skills.
They discovered an odd ally in military intelligence who has assisted in the development of tech entrepreneurs and the facilitation of their cryptocurrency investments. Unit 8200 is deeply involved in the cryptocurrency world, and its alumni have joined and established successful firms, bringing government ties, extensive cybersecurity knowledge, and a well-rounded computer education to the blockchain. The Mamram Blockchain Incubator is also associated with the IDF's Centre for Computing and Information Systems.
The Israeli government has contributed to the digital revolution by publicly experimenting with one of the world's first Central Bank Digital Coins. In 2021, the government released the first prototype of the Digital Shekel, and the Bank of Israel recently announced a Digital Shekel Challenge to investigate potential CBDC uses.
The country is also investing in supercomputer technology to compete in the Artificial Intelligence arms race and keep its position at the forefront of the tech start-up scene.
Given Lottie-Player's impressive tally of over 4 million downloads and its significant presence on many prominent websites for animation embedding, this incident underscores the security vulnerabilities associated with open-source libraries.
The breach initially came to light on GitHub when a user noticed an unusual Web3 wallet prompt while integrating Lottie-Player on their website. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that versions 2.0.5, 2.0.6, and 2.0.7 of Lottie-Player, released between 8:12 PM and 9:57 PM GMT on October 30, 2024, had been tampered with and compromised.
The attack involved the introduction of malicious code into three new versions of the Lottie-Player library, a widely used tool for rendering animations on websites and applications. Threat actors infiltrated the distribution chain, embedding code designed to steal cryptocurrencies from users' wallets. This method of attack is particularly insidious because it leverages the trust developers place in the libraries they use.
Once the compromised versions were released, they were integrated into numerous high-profile projects, unknowingly exposing countless users to the threat—the malicious code activated during transactions, redirecting funds to wallets controlled by the attackers. In one notable case, a user reportedly lost 10 Bitcoin (BTC), worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, due to a phishing transaction triggered by the malicious script.
Following the discovery of the attack, the Lottie-Player team swiftly released a clean version, 2.0.8, which developers can use to replace the compromised files. To further contain the breach and limit exposure, versions 2.0.5 through 2.0.7 were promptly removed from npm and CDN providers like unpkg and jsdelivr.
The attack occurred during a pivotal phase of the crypto bull market, intensifying efforts to steal increasingly valuable tokens. To mitigate risks, it's advisable to connect a wallet only for specific purposes rather than granting full-time permissions for signing transactions. Additionally, being prompted to connect a wallet immediately upon entering a website can serve as a potential warning sign.
Cybersecurity experts have found a new malware threat that lures users into downloading a malicious app to grow. An advanced malware strain campaign has surfaced from North Korea, it attacks cryptocurrency wallets by exploiting the mnemonic keys of the users. McAfee researcher SangRyo found the malware after tracking stolen data from malicious apps for breaking servers and gaining access.
The malware is called SpyAgent, and it targets cryptocurrency enthusiasts. What makes this malware unique is its ability to use OCR technology for scanning images, it leverages Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology to steal mnemonic keys stored in the images of infected devices. Hackers use these mnemonic keys to gain unauthorized entry into digital assets.
These keys are twelve-word phrases used for recovering cryptocurrency wallets. There has been a rise in the use of mnemonic phrases for crypto wallet security because they are easy to remember if compared to a long strain of random characters.
Spy Agent pretends to be a legitimate application, such as banking, streaming, government services, or utility software. McAfee has discovered over 280 fake applications.
When a victim downloads a malicious app containing SpyAgent, the malware builds a command and control (C2 )server that allows threat actors to launch remote commands. Later, the attacker extracts contact lists, text messages, and stored images from the compromised device.
“Due to the server’s misconfiguration, not only were its internal components unintentionally exposed, but the sensitive personal data of victims, which had been compromised, also became publicly accessible. In the ‘uploads’ directory, individual folders were found, each containing photos collected from the victims, highlighting the severity of the data breach,” the report says.
SpyAgent has been found working in Korea, but its range has widened to other countries as well. The malware is capable of disguising itself as a legitimate application, which makes it dangerous. SpyAgent has recently expanded to the United Kingdom.
It has also moved from simple HTTP requests to web socket connections, allowing real-time two-way communication with the C2 server. It escapes security researchers via techniques like function remaining and string encoding.
The McAfee report recommends “users to be cautious about their actions, like installing apps and granting permissions. It is advisable to keep important information securely stored and isolated from devices. Security software has become not just a recommendation but a necessity for protecting devices.”
Experts uncovered a critical flaw in the encryption schema of the DoNex ransomware, including all variations and predecessors. Since March 2024, they've worked with law enforcement to give a decryptor to affected DoNex victims covertly.
The cryptographic vulnerability was widely discussed at Recon 2024, compelling the researchers to reveal the problem and its ramifications publically.
Avast researchers discovered that the DoNex ransomware went through many rebrandings after its original identification as Muse in April 2022. Subsequent revisions of DoNex included a rebrand to a reported Fake LockBit 3.0 in November 2022, followed by DarkRace in May 2023, and lastly DoNex in March 2024.
Since April 2024, the team has discovered no further copies, and the ransomware group's public TOR address remained dormant, implying that DoNex's evolution and rebranding efforts may have ended.
The DoNex malware uses a complicated encryption method. During execution, the CryptGenRandom function generates an encryption key. This key creates a ChaCha20 symmetric key, which is later used to encrypt files.
Following encryption, the symmetric key is encrypted with RSA-4096 and appended to the impacted file. Files up to 1 MB are encrypted in their whole, whilst larger files are encrypted in block segments. An XOR-encrypted configuration file stores the ransomware's configuration, as well as information on whitelisted extensions, files, and services to terminate.
While the researchers have not described the specific process they used to understand the decryption, more information about the same cryptographic flaw is available in files related to the Recon 2024 event lecture titled "Cryptography is hard: Breaking the DoNex ransomware." The event was hosted by Gijs Rijnders, a malware reverse engineer and cyber threat intelligence specialist of the Dutch National Police.
DoNex particularly targeted victims in the United States, Italy, and Belgium with tailored attacks. The researchers confirmed that the leaked DoNex decryptor can decrypt all forms of the DoNex ransomware, including earlier versions.
Victims of the DoNex ransomware can identify an attack based on the ransom note left by the software. Although several varieties of DoNex (Fake LockBit, DarkRace, and DoNex) create different ransom notes, they all have the same layout.
Klimenka is accused of working with Alexander Vinnik and other individuals from July 2011 to July 2017 to operate BTC-e, an unregulated digital currency exchange, and to participate in a money laundering scheme, according to unsealed indictments.
The US Justice Department has accused BTC-e of being a hub for money laundering and cybercrime. The company is said to have provided high anonymity trading services that drew in customers who were heavily involved in illicit activities.
The news statement states that the site allegedly enabled financial transactions resulting from a variety of illegal activities, including computer hacking, fraud, identity theft, and drug trafficking.
Authorities emphasize BTC-e's involvement in cybercrimes and point out that it operated on American servers reportedly in violation of mandatory anti-money laundering procedures and "know your customer" (KYC) guidelines.
Furthermore, according to the government agency, BTC-e violated federal regulations mandating strict anti-money laundering protocols by failing to register as a money services organization, despite its substantial operations within the United States.
The arrest of Klimenka in Latvia last December, according to the US Department of Justice, was a significant milestone in their "efforts to combat cryptocurrency-facilitated crimes."
After making his first court appearance in San Francisco, Klimenka is being kept in detention and could receive a hefty 25-year maximum term if found guilty. The accusations highlight the U.S. government's increased emphasis on crimes involving digital assets, with the National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) leading inquiries into cryptocurrency misuse.
The press release stressed that the joint actions of the FBI, Homeland Security Investigations, IRS Criminal Investigation, and U.S. Secret Service underscore "the federal commitment to dismantling networks that leverage digital currencies for illegal activities."
Despite the US government's claim, new research from the cryptocurrency analysis company Chainalysis suggests that just a tiny portion of blockchain transactions are utilized for illicit purposes.
$24 billion was received by "illicit addresses" in 2023, mostly from "sanctioned entities" according to US government records. This is a significant decrease from its 2022 value of approximately $40 billion, as shown in the following chart.
Federal authorities in the United States have effectively confiscated the Sinbad crypto mixer, a tool purportedly used by North Korean hackers from the Lazarus organization, in a key action against cybercriminal activities. The operation, which focused on the Lazarus group's illegal financial operations, is an important development in the continuous international effort to tackle cyber threats.
The Lazarus organization, a state-sponsored hacker outfit renowned for coordinating high-profile cyberattacks, is connected to North Korea, which is how the Sinbad cryptocurrency mixer got its reputation. A crucial component of this operation was reportedly played by the U.S. Department of Treasury.
The WannaCry ransomware assault in 2017 and the notorious Sony Pictures hack from 2014 are only two of the cybercrimes the Lazarus organization has been connected to. These occurrences highlight the group's advanced capabilities and possible threat to international cybersecurity.
Robust cybersecurity measures are more important than ever in a time when technological breakthroughs rule the day. A major risk to an organization's security is outdated cryptographic protocols, which make it open to cyberattacks. According to recent reports, organizations must immediately upgrade their cryptography methods in order to keep up with the constantly changing landscape of cyber threats.
The cybersecurity landscape is constantly evolving, and cybercriminals are becoming increasingly sophisticated in their techniques. This means that older cryptographic protocols, once considered secure, may now be vulnerable to attacks. The use of outdated protocols can expose sensitive data and leave organizations susceptible to breaches.
According to a recent article on Help Net Security, organizations can mitigate these risks by adopting modern cryptographic protocols. By staying informed about the latest advancements and best practices in encryption, businesses can ensure that their data remains secure.
One company at the forefront of modern encryption solutions is Virtru. Their platform offers state-of-the-art encryption tools designed to protect sensitive information across various platforms and applications. By leveraging Virtru's technology, organizations can enhance their data security and safeguard against potential breaches.
Moreover, maintaining robust cybersecurity practices can also have financial benefits. A report from Help Net Security suggests that organizations can decrease their cyber insurance premiums while still maintaining adequate coverage. By demonstrating a commitment to strong security measures, companies can negotiate better insurance rates, ultimately saving on costs.
In addition to updating cryptographic protocols, it's essential for organizations to implement a multi-layered approach to security. This includes regular security assessments, employee training, and proactive monitoring for potential threats. By taking a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity, businesses can fortify their defenses against evolving cyber threats.
Keeping up with cryptographic protocols is essential to ensuring strong cybersecurity. Organizations must maintain constant awareness and implement proactive security measures due to the ever-changing world of cyber threats. Businesses may strengthen their defenses and protect their sensitive data from potential intrusions by adopting modern encryption technologies and putting in place a multifaceted security approach.
Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, is making waves in the realm of digital governance. The city has taken a bold step forward by implementing blockchain technology to issue government IDs. This move represents a significant leap towards secure, efficient, and transparent identification processes.
Traditionally, government-issued identification documents have been vulnerable to fraud, identity theft, and bureaucratic inefficiencies. However, by leveraging blockchain, Buenos Aires aims to address these challenges head-on. The technology offers a decentralized, tamper-proof ledger where sensitive information is stored securely.
One of the key advantages of using blockchain for IDs lies in its immutable nature. Once data is recorded on the blockchain, it cannot be altered or deleted, ensuring the integrity of the information. This level of security greatly diminishes the risk of identity fraud, a prevalent concern in today's digital age.
Moreover, the blockchain-based system provides citizens with greater control over their personal information. Through cryptographic keys, individuals can manage who has access to their data, enhancing privacy and data protection. This empowers citizens and fosters a sense of trust in the government's digital initiatives.
Additionally, the use of blockchain streamlines administrative processes. Verifying identities becomes quicker and more reliable, reducing the time and resources traditionally spent on manual checks. This efficiency not only benefits citizens but also optimizes government operations.
The adoption of blockchain for government IDs also sets a precedent for other jurisdictions. It showcases the potential of decentralized technology in enhancing public services and strengthening trust between citizens and their governments.
However, challenges remain. Ensuring the accessibility of this technology to all citizens, regardless of their technological literacy, is crucial. Additionally, robust cybersecurity measures must be in place to safeguard against potential threats.
Buenos Aires' blockchain-based government ID pilot program is a groundbreaking initiative that has the potential to revolutionize the way governments interact with their citizens. By integrating blockchain technology into government IDs, Buenos Aires is setting a new standard for digital governance and demonstrating the transformative potential of this technology in creating more secure, efficient, and citizen-centric public services.
This initiative is a beacon of progress in a world that is grappling with evolving technological landscapes. It is a model for governments worldwide that are looking to harness the power of blockchain technology to redefine the relationship between citizens and their governments.
Customers of prominent cryptocurrency companies FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis had their financial and personal information exposed in a recent cybersecurity breach. Concerns have been expressed about the security of private information in the cryptocurrency sector as a result of the hack.
The breach, according to claims from sources, was carried out by taking advantage of flaws in the systems of Kroll, a reputable data management business. The personal information of innumerable users is now in danger due to Kroll's involvement in processing the client data of these cryptocurrency companies.
FTX, BlockFi, and Genesis being prominent names in the cryptocurrency sector, have a significant user base that relies on their platforms for trading, lending, and other financial services. The compromised data includes user names, email addresses, phone numbers, transaction histories, and potentially even account passwords. This sensitive information falling into the wrong hands could lead to identity theft, phishing attacks, and financial fraud.
The incident raises questions about the industry's overall data security practices. While the cryptocurrency market has been praised for its decentralized nature and robust encryption, this breach underscores the persistent vulnerabilities that exist in digital systems. Companies dealing with such high-value assets and sensitive data must prioritize cybersecurity measures to prevent such incidents.