Monthly Archives: Oktober 2020

The July 15 BTC scam, which involved hacking high-profile Twitter accounts, demonstrates weak election security, according to a report from the New York State Department of Finance.

The report says public institutions are „falling short of the new challenges posed by social media.“

The report recommended the creation of a new social media regulator.

The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations based on transparency standards.

The July 15 Twitter hack not only compromised the accounts of millions of users, but also led to the theft of over $ 118,000 in Bitcoin (BTC). New York authorities warn the hack demonstrated a weakness that could have serious implications for the U.S. election.

A $ 118,000 hack

On July 15, a Florida teenager could have hacked into the Twitter network using a simple phishing technique. After hijacking the accounts of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and President Barack Obama, the high school student demanded Bitcoin in a classic scam.

In the end, the culprit was awarded around $ 118,000, security was restored, and a suspect was arrested. However, the attack revealed just how vulnerable Twitter was. Additionally, once the hack became apparent to Twitter’s security team, they realized there was no elaborate mechanism in place to stop the hack. At the time of the attack, Twitter decided to simply lock down all verified members until everything was back to order.

On October 15, the New York State Department of Finance released a report on the hack , highlighting the negative implications it could have on the controversial US election on November 3, 2020.

Easy hacking

The problem, according to the report, is twofold. On the one hand, the attack was not very sophisticated. Graham Ivan Clark, 17, was ultimately charged with 30 crimes related to the incident . Although apparently tech-savvy, Clark did not need any expertise to complete the attack.

Instead, it relied on a phishing scam. It basically boiled down to calling Twitter employees who had high security clearances, saying he was from IT, and asking them to give him their passwords.

The report cautioned about the importance of this vulnerability:

The extraordinary access hackers gained with this simple technique underscores the vulnerability of Twitter’s cybersecurity and the potential for devastating consequences. Notably, the Twitter hack did not involve any of the high tech or sophisticated techniques often used in cyber attacks – no malware, no exploits, and no backdoors.

The second problem, according to the report, is the influence of Twitter. Twitter has around 330 million active users . These 330 million users have considerable influence. They are not required to meet fact-checking standards and can still support a claim by calling it an opinion.

Most notably, however, Americans receive their news from social media. A Pew Research study found that 55% of Americans get their news from social media „sometimes“ or „often.“ Twitter was the third most popular news portal after Facebook and YouTube.

Interestingly, 62% of respondents believe that social media has too much influence on the mix of information people say.

The big deal

The finance ministry focused on the possible implications of the vulnerability of such an influential news source. He found that the Twitter hack showed how unprepared social media companies are for the threat of a hack:

The Twitter hack demonstrates the need for strong cybersecurity to curb the potential weaponization of large social media companies. But our public institutions have not taken up the new challenges posed by social media.

A single hacker could block some Twitter accounts, causing bias, misinformation or security risks in the next election. With social media being a crucial source of information, this could influence elections.

In the past, many social media companies have been accused of improperly influencing politics. Notably, on October 23, 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, testified before Congress on elections and cybersecurity. The issue of Facebook’s Libra cryptocurrency was raised during the discussion.

A detailed project on compliance with blockchain guidelines was published with the Global Standard Mapping Initiative. The GSMI deals with important economic trends and gives companies practical guidelines for blockchain applications.

Industry leaders launched the Global Standards Mapping Initiative (GSMI) under the auspices of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the Global Blockchain Business Council (GBBC)released. The GSMI is a comprehensive inventory of blockchain implementation in industry based on 30 companies, 185 jurisdictions and 400 industry groups. The initiative is open to the public and is intended to support various industries in developing blockchain framework conditions and standards.

The GSMI deals with three different main areas. Technical norms, legislation and guidance from sovereign and international bodies, as well as best practices and standards.

One of the key takeaways was the increasing fragmentation of technology, both globally and within jurisdictions. Overlaps, gaps and conflicts in agreeing standards were also a major issue. There have been discussions as to which areas the technology may have been used too early. In addition, there are not enough guidelines for new approaches, which is why it is urgently necessary for organizations to develop their own blockchain strategies. The important role that government agencies play in shaping future technology was also addressed. In addition to guidelines for all those interested in blockchain, an interactive map of the blockchain legislation and guidelines was published with the GSMI.

Blockchain experts are convinced of the GSMI

Many participating blockchain experts commented on the initiative. Sheila Warren , Head of Blockchain at the World Economic Forum, explains that there would have been enormous demand for such an initiative in advance.

We were delighted to be working with the Global Blockchain Business Council and members of our Blockchain Council to create this open resource that can be used by the ecosystem, policymakers, and beyond to further their approaches to future technologies and standards to inform.

GBBC chairman, senior managing director and head of the blockchain business at Accenture David Treat, meanwhile, mentioned a certain risk of process delay that had been accepted in order to bring the initiative into being. In his eyes, however, GSMI represents an important step forward. The future can now be designed with transparent and more secure infrastructures. The new blockchain guidelines are an impartial basis that supports organizations around the world in doing business with digital assets.

World Economic Forum initiative is still in its infancy

Sandro Ro, Chief Executive Officer of the global Blockchain Business Council, is also proud of the initiative. He is already inviting other partners to join the GSMI.

GSMI partners and collaborators are a diverse group of stakeholders from industries, governments, and academia who represent a range of perspectives and ideologies. Coming together to lay the foundation for better harmonization and clarity in setting standards is an example of the blockchain community’s unique ethos based on collective progress and collaboration.

Brian Behlendorf, Executive Director of Hyperledger, also describes the initiative as an important contribution to the blockchain ecosystem. The mapping project makes it clear that the blockchain community is collaborative by nature.

The use of blockchain technology is becoming increasingly important in more and more industries. That is why the co-founders of GSMI have decided to keep the initiative growing. In the future, other companies will participate in the collaboration.

Institutionelle Anleger stützen ihre Trades zunehmend auf die langfristigen Aussichten von Bitcoin Revolution und lassen sich laut Krypto-Derivat-Börse ZUBR nicht mehr leicht von Preisschwankungen abschrecken.

In einem neuen Bericht mit dem Titel „Institutionelle Anleger machen Hodler auf dem Bitcoin-Futures-Markt“ analysiert ZUBR regulierte Börsen wie die Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) und die Bakkt und vergleicht ihr Anlageverhalten während der Bullen- und Bärenmärkte.

Laut ZUBR versuchen institutionelle Händler auf regulierten Plattformen, Bitcoin auf der Grundlage seiner langfristigen Aussichten zu halten, und stellen fest, dass es im Vergleich zum Volumen mehr „offenes Interesse“ gegeben hat

„Die Schriften sind möglicherweise noch nicht an der Wand, um ein umfassendes institutionelles Interesse zu wecken. Es besteht jedoch ein klares langfristiges Interesse an der Kryptowährung an regulierten Börsen, das zuvor noch nicht gesehen wurde. “

Laut ZUBR belief sich das Handelsvolumen für Bitcoin-Futures im vergangenen Jahr auf über 4 Billionen US-Dollar. Das durchschnittliche monatliche Volumen lag fast 60% über dem vorherigen Durchschnitt von 2019. Der Anstieg des Open Interest ist hauptsächlich auf das CME zu verzeichnen, obwohl das Krypto-Derivat-Unternehmen Bakkt liegt nicht weit dahinter.

ZUBR geht davon aus, dass das langfristige Interesse an Bitcoin an regulierten Börsen weiter zunehmen kann, wenn mehr institutionelle Anleger in den Markt eintreten

„Es ist klar, dass regulierte Börsen ein anderes Kaliber von Händlern auf den Markt gebracht haben, was möglicherweise die zukünftige Dynamik der Kryptowährung in das verlagert, was die Gläubigen schon immer wollten – Gold verdrängen.“