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Crypto-stealing scam targets Web3 workers with fake meeting apps
Cado Security Labs said scammers use AI to make fake company sites and dupe crypto workers into downloading info-stealing meeting apps.
Web3 workers are being targeted by a campaign that uses fake meeting apps to inject malware and steal credentials to websites, apps and crypto wallets, Cado Security Labs warned.
Scammers are using artificial intelligence to generate and fill out websites and social media accounts to appear as legitimate companies before contacting potential targets to prompt them to download a meeting app, Cado’s threat research lead Tara Gould wrote in a Dec. 6 report.
The app is called “Meeten” but it’s currently going by the name “Meetio” and regularly changes names. In the past, it has used Clusee.com, Cuesee, Meeten.gg, Meeten.us and Meetone.gg.
The app contains a Realst info stealer and, once downloaded, will hunt for sensitive items such as Telegram logins, banking card details and information on crypto wallets to send back to the attackers. Read More
What are convertible senior notes? How MicroStrategy uses them to buy Bitcoin
Convertible senior notes are hybrid debt instruments companies use to raise capital without immediate dilution, while giving investors the opportunity to convert debt into equity under favorable conditions.
To simplify, a convertible senior note is a type of debt security (loan) that you (as an investor) can convert into shares of the issuing company’s common stock. But you might be wondering what “senior” means here.
The term “senior” means that in the event of the company’s bankruptcy, holders of these notes have priority over other debt holders (like holders of junior notes or unsecured debt) when it comes to repayment.
Here are key terms associated with convertible senior notes that you should be aware of:
Principal amount: The initial amount borrowed by the company.
Interest rate: The fixed or variable rate of interest paid on the principal amount.
Maturity date: The date on which the principal amount is due to be repaid.
Conversion price: The predetermined price per share at which the note can be converted into shares of the company’s common stock.
Conversion ratio: The number of shares of common stock into which each note can be converted.
But why would a company issue convertible senior notes? Well, there are many reasons, including:
Flexible financing: Such instruments allow companies to raise capital, especially in the early stages or during periods of uncertainty.
Avoid dilution: Unlike traditional equity financing (like selling shares), convertible notes don’t immediately dilute the existing holders’ ownership stake.
Tax benefits: In some cases, interest payments on convertible notes may be tax-deductible for the company.
Now, a question arises: Why would an investor buy convertible senior notes?
Convertible senior note holders can participate in the company’s growth through equity conversion, making them more attractive than traditional debt. Since they are debt instruments with a fixed interest rate and maturity date, investors get protection against losses. Read More
The Role of Degens in the Crypto Horizon – Hype Gains and Scam Losses
Degens, short for ‘degenerates,’ have become a driving force in the crypto world.
These risk-takers chase high-reward opportunities with little regard for potential losses, fueling the growth of memecoins and speculative projects.
The global cryptocurrency user base has exploded from 106 million in January 2021 to over 617 million identity-verified crypto wallets by June 2024, with degens playing a significant role in this expansion.
However, the degens mentality has also created fertile ground for scammers and fraudulent projects.
A recent investigation by blockchain investigator ZachXBT into the activities of ‘Serpent,’ a former professional Fortnite player, illustrates the dark side of this phenomenon. Read More
Naoris Protocol unveils world’s first post-quantum DePIN for cybersecurity and digital trust
Naoris Protocol has unveiled what it describes as ground-breaking technology that revolutionises digital security through the world’s first Post-Quantum powered Decentralised Physical Infrastructure Network (DePIN) for cybersecurity and digital trust.
Backed by prominent figures including DNS designer David Holtzman, former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, and Shanfari & Partners Chairman H.E. Sheikh Thamer Said Ahmed al-Shanfari, this innovative protocol transforms traditional untrusted devices into a decentralised security layer of cyber-trusted validator nodes, eliminating single points of failure that plague centralised security systems.
Decentralised Security: A Necessary Shift Amidst Rising Centralised Failures:
The launch comes at a critical time, following the CrowdStrike outages in July 2024 that demonstrated the vulnerabilities of centralised security frameworks. These incidents disrupted global services across aviation, banking, and media sectors, highlighting the urgent need for decentralised security solutions.
“Current centralised models are vulnerable by design,” stated David Carvalho, CEO & founder of Naoris Protocol. “Our protocol decentralises digital security, where every device becomes a secure validator node as part of a trusted, incentivised layer that uses post-quantum cryptography to create a real time, decentralised validation brain.”
The protocol introduces four key innovations:
Post-Quantum Security: Designed to withstand quantum computing, ensuring sensitive data and blockchain infrastructures are protected from next-generation cyber threats.
Decentralised Security Layer: Devices actively validate and prove their trusted state in real time, creating a self-reinforcing security layer that scales without weakening.
Incentivised Security Model: Devices are rewarded for maintaining security validations across the network to continually reinforce cyber defences.
Real-Time Validation: Continuous verification of node integrity mitigates risks of compromise or collusion, a stark contrast to static and reactive centralised systems. Read More
Exploring The IndoEx Cryptocurrency Exchange The First Trading Platform To List The Markethive Token - Hivecoin
The IndoEx exchange aims to cater to a broad spectrum of investors, including newcomers, seasoned traders, and institutional investors, rather than focusing on a specific target audience like most crypto trading platforms. The platform's primary objective is to offer a robust and efficient infrastructure that enables seamless and rapid transactions of crypto assets.
As the IndoEx trading platform is the first crypto exchange to list Hivecoin, this article delves deeper into the platform, exploring it further to bring awareness to the Markethive community. Since its establishment in 2019, IndoEx has gained prominence in the alternative cryptocurrency trading sector due to its reasonable commissions, secure wallets, high trading volume, and fast transactions.
The trading platform, with offices in the United Kingdom and Estonia, provides close to 300 trading pairs, can be used in 150 different countries, and supports a range of cryptocurrencies, including popular ones such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), Tether (USDT), and Ripple (XRP), as well as notable alternative coins like DASH, Chainlink (LINK), and Solana (SOL). Furthermore, it accommodates less mainstream coins and tokens like NEO, Cardano (ADA), and EOS, amounting to 180 cryptocurrencies. Users can exchange these coins for traditional currency or trade them with one another.
The platform provides users exclusive access to newly launched tokens through airdrops, giving them a head start in discovering and acquiring new tokens with the potential for long-term growth. Beyond trading, users can also benefit from receiving free tokens that may significantly impact the global market. Furthermore, the platform hosts trading contests and an initial coin offering (ICO) launchpad, offering crypto enthusiasts a comprehensive suite of features. Read More
Floki, Mastercard launch 13-crypto debit card in Europe
Floki is one of a growing number of crypto firms issuing regional payment cards that let users spend cryptocurrencies.
Floki and Mastercard have introduced a debit card that will be available in physical and virtual form in 31 European countries. The card supports eight blockchains and can be funded with FLOKI and other cryptocurrencies.
A card to spend 13 cryptocurrencies:
The Floki Debit Card can be issued in 31 countries of the European Union and European Free Trade Association states. Virtual gift cards are available worldwide. The cards are issued with Mastercard and can be used where Visa and Mastercard are accepted.
There are no transaction fees, but the top-up charge is 2%. There are also one-time setup fees. It has a 5,000 Tether daily limit.
The card can be funded with Floki Inu, Bitcoin, Ether, Tether coins (USDt, EURT, XAUT), Circle, BNB, Solana, DOGS (DOGS), Hamster Kombat (HMSTR), The Open Network and Notcoin.
Floki announced its intention to issue a debit card in March as one of the first projects on its roadmap. The cryptocurrency is named after Elon Musk’s dog and has an active community of supporters who call themselves Vikings. It has a $2.63 billion market cap and total supply of 9.67 trillion coins.
Floki’s flagship Valhalla gaming metaverse mainnet is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2025 after delays. Its ecosystem is based on the Ethereum and BNB Smart Chain networks. Read More
Vocal Ethereum researcher Max Resnick jumps ship to join Solana
Max Resnick became increasingly critical of Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling approach in recent months, suggesting it should have focused its scaling efforts on the base layer like Solana.
Blockchain researcher Max Resnick jumped from Ethereum infrastructure firm Consensys to Solana research and development firm Anza after recently opposing key aspects of Ethereum’s roadmap.
“I’m taking my talents to Solana,” Resnick said in a Dec. 9 X post after revealing he’d started work at Anza the same day.
Resnick, who worked as head of research at Consensys subsidiary Special Mechanisms Group since February 2023, had been critical of Ethereum’s scaling strategy.
Resnick said that for the first 100 days at Anza, he will be writing a technical specification focused on Solana’s fee markets and consensus implementations — two areas where he can have the “highest impact.”
Anza is the software firm behind Solana’s Agave client — aimed at improving the network’s resilience and uptime, among other things.
Ethereum community member Ryan Berckmans was happy to see Resnick leave for Solana after he criticized Ethereum’s layer-2 scaling approach, arguing it should focus its scaling efforts at the base layer like Solana. Read More
Layer 0: Solving Bitcoin’s interoperability challenges
Solving Bitcoin interoperability through a “layer 0” network can unlock its full potential in Web3.
One of the biggest problems holding back broader adoption of the Web3 world is liquidity fragmentation. So much space is locked on certain networks. There is perhaps no more significant example than Bitcoin.
Despite all the good done in the broader decentralized finance (DeFi) space, there’s no good way to connect the single largest asset by market capitalization to most of these services. Until now, existing solutions have struggled with Bitcoin’s lack of native smart contract support, security concerns with wrapped tokens, and the tradeoffs of integrating with Bitcoin’s unique architecture.
Implementing a new “layer 0” network, designed to leverage smart contracts to sign Bitcoin transactions, is the key to finally solving this problem.
Fragmentation remains a problem:
Liquidity and user fragmentation can be seen across layer-1 blockchains, sidechains and layer 2s (L2s), sometimes even within a single protocol. As new networks, assets and services increase, this issue only worsens because every new infrastructure in this ecosystem needs its users, developers and liquidity.
Multiple solutions are already being explored to bridge different blockchain networks. Still, these services don’t work with the biggest, most robust blockchain of all: Bitcoin. That is an unfortunate situation because the implementation of Segregated Witness, Schnorr signatures and Taproot have paved the way for Ordinals, BRC-20 tokens, Runes, and Atomicals, which expand the possibilities for tokens and financial products on Bitcoin itself. Users and markets have seen increased demand for assets that offer real utility, not just speculative value. Read More
Scammers are using Telegram verification bots to inject crypto-stealing malware
Scam Sniffer told Cointelegraph it was the first time it’s seen a scam use a “specific combination of fake X accounts, fake Telegram channels and malicious Telegram bots.”
Scammers are combining social engineering with phony Telegram verification bots that inject crypto-stealing malware into systems to raid crypto wallets, blockchain security firm Scam Sniffer said.
In a Dec. 10 X post, the security firm said scammers are creating fake X accounts impersonating popular crypto influencers, then inviting users to Telegram groups with promises of investment insights.
Once in the Telegram group, users are asked to verify through “OfficiaISafeguardBot,” a fake verification bot that “creates artificial urgency” with short verification windows, the firm said.
The bot then injects a malicious PowerShell code that downloads and runs malware to compromise computer systems and crypto wallets. Scam Sniffer said it has noted “numerous cases” where similar malware led to the theft of private keys.
Scam Sniffer told Cointelegraph that the recent known cases of this type of scam were all caused by the fake verification bot.
“It’s currently unclear if there are other malicious bots. However, it’s obviously simple for them to impersonate others as well,” the firm said. Read More
Disclaimer: These articles are provided for informational purposes only. They are not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or any other advice.
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