Debate Magazine

Weekly Crypto Round Up: Latest News on Cryptocurrencies & the Dark Web | Week 48 – 2018

Posted on the 30 November 2018 by Darkwebnews @darkwebnews

The total crypto market capitalization continues to plunge, as Bitcoin's price is continually losing value.

Last week ended with Bitcoin falling to a new low of $3,585. However, the coin managed to climb in the following days, reaching $4,342 at press time.

Ripple's XRP remains second on the list, with a total market cap of $15 billion, surpassing Ethereum which has fallen third since the large market slump. Currently, Ethereum's worth is just over $120.

Leaked Data of 300,000 People Offered on the Dark Web for 1 BTC

In a recent data breach of the Chinese automobile finance platform, Jiurong, the personal details of 300,000 people were compromised and are now being sold on darknet markets for the price of 1 Bitcoin.

Crypto news outlet 8BTC revealed that the hacker, known under the alias "Lone Wolf," accessed the company's database system and hijacked users' data including names, email addresses, phone numbers and government-issued ID numbers.

The hacker even offered technical support for the potential buyers. Jiurong is a mid-sized company that provides automobile financing services. The victims of the breach were its registered users.

This is not the first China-based company to fall victim to a large data breach recently.

Earlier this year, in late August, information of over 130 million guests of the Huazhu Hotel Group were leaked and sold on the dark web in one of the largest breaches in China to date.

New Powerful Malware Discovered on the Dark Web

A new multipurpose hacking tool targeting Microsoft Windows computers is currently being marketed on darknet forums.

The L0rdix malware can steal data, mine cryptocurrency, and has snooping capabilities. Additionally, L0rdix is capable of evading malware scanning, which makes it difficult to track.

The malware was discovered by ENSILO security researcher Ben Hunter on darknet forums where it is being marketed for the price of $60.96.

After infecting the targeted Windows device of the victim and receiving the required information, the malware can then execute commands, upload mining modules and perform other malicious activities.

In a post published on ENSILO's blog last week, Hunter explains that L0rdix is a new hacking tool that is still not fully developed, and its main objective is to mine cryptocurrency without being detected.

Two Iranian Hackers Responsible for SamSam Ransomware Attacks

The United States Department of Justice has revealed new information behind the SamSam malware attacks that were rampaging through the country for the last three years.

According to the justice department's report, Faramarz Shahi Savandi and Mohammad Mehdi Shah Mansouri, both Iranian nationals, were behind the SamSam attack that affected hospitals, schools and municipalities, causing damage of over $200 million.

The malware had a devastating effect and helped the hackers extort $6 million in cryptocurrency from the ransomware victims.

They would infect specific targets and then shut down their whole system and demand ransom.

As they were both operating from within Iran territories, it is difficult for authorities to apprehend them and put the accused on trial.

Hacker Jailed for 10 Years over Thousands of Bomb Hoax Calls

Last week, 20-year old Michael Kadar was sentenced to 10 years in prison after being accused of more than 2,000 false bomb threats on airports, planes, Jewish centers and schools in various countries around the world.

The American-Israeli hacker was operating on the dark web, where he would charge for his services in cryptocurrency, The New York Times reported.

Depending on the severity of the bomb threat, the hacker had a different payment rate ranging from $40 for private properties such as houses to $500 for commercial jets.

Over a period of two years, between 2015 and 2017, Kadar earned 184 Bitcoins.

Kadar, a teenager living with his parents in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, was only 16 when he started with the threats.

Besides the U.S. and Israel, he made these false reports in other countries as well, including Australia, Britain, Canada, Denmark and others.

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That's it for our summary of this week's major crypto news headlines. This is the 22nd post in our crypto news series. See previous installments here:

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