Security News
A "Hack-proof" smart padlock with security based on blockchain technology could be defeated by a simple Bluetooth replay attack - or a 1kg lump hammer. Its unique selling point is that the padlock can be locked and unlocked using an app that transmits over a Bluetooth Low Energy connection, rather than a physical key or combination lock.
Abstract: A voting system can use the security of blockchain and the mail to provide a reliable voting system. A registered voter receives a computer readable code in the mail and confirms identity and confirms correct ballot information in an election.
Blockchain cybersecurity startup Valid Network today announced raising $8 million in a seed funding round, bringing the total raised by the company to $10 million. Valid plans to use the new funds to fuel research and development, increase its team in Israel, and also open an office in New York City, to expand its business in the United States.
Our experts have deconstructed a strain of malware called Glupteba that uses just about every cybercrime trick you've heard of, and probably several more besides. The most interesting feature that we learned about in the report is how Glupteba uses the Bitcoin blockchain as a communication channel for receiving updated configuration information.
It's actually an investment company that wants to make online gaming more fair for players by funding early-stage gaming startups that incorporate blockchain technology in the nascent blockchain gaming industry. The idea, said Craig Russo, the company's director of innovation, is to broaden the appeal and growth of online gaming by giving players tools that allow them to keep those purchases or migrate them for use in other games without having to buy them again.
Due to the frequency, most of the public and news outlets focus on only the most damaging breaches containing the most sensitive personal identifying information, routinely ignoring the more common hacks that leak usernames and passwords for basic website accounts. While a number of different options have emerged, Ethereum co-founder Charles Hoskinson said in an interview that blockchain was the key to a passwordless future for the internet.
Sixgill, a leader in data automation and authenticity products and services, announced the release of Integrity 2.0, a powerful data authenticity solution that combines a practical permissioned blockchain with a public blockchain auditor in an industry-first "Hybrid-hybrid" implementation that achieves absolute data integrity and veracity. Integrity 2.0 makes blockchain data integrity easy and practical so organizations can quickly solve the rising need for end-to-end, real-time data authenticity assurance.
An IT startup has developed a novel blockchain-based approach for secure linking of databases, called ChainifyDB. "Our software resembles keyhole surgery. With a barely noticeable procedure we enhance existing database infrastructures with blockchain-based security features. Our software is seamlessly compatible with the most common database management systems, which drastically reduces the barrier to entry for secure digital transactions," explains Jens Dittrich, Professor of Computer Science at Saarland University at Saarbrücken, Germany. "If a doctor changes something in his table, it affects all other tables in the network. Subsequent changes to older table states are only possible if all doctors in the network agree," explains Jens Dittrich.
During the event's annual Cryptographer's Panel, industry leaders broke down their top crypto-concerns, including privacy regulations, election security and blockchain. "Any legislation that requires people to undo past actions is contrary to the technology. In most cases, blockchain is overhyped and there are simpler ways to achieve the same goal. Most of these use cases have been proposed for blockchain are nonsense."
"The makers of the blockchain voting platform Voatz have had to go on the offensive to address assertions from MIT researchers that their app is insecure and can be easily hacked into. MIT researchers released a lengthy paper on Thursday that said hackers could change votes through the app, which has already been used in Oregon, West Virginia, Washington, and Utah since 2018."Their security analysis of the application, called Voatz, pinpoints a number of weaknesses, including the opportunity for hackers to alter, stop, or expose how an individual user has voted," MIT said in a news release. Michael Specter, a graduate student in MIT's Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and a member of MIT's Internet Policy Research Initiative, and James Koppel, also a graduate student in EECS, described what went wrong with Voatz and how they discovered the vulnerabilities in their paper, "The Ballot is Busted Before the Blockchain: A Security Analysis of Voatz, the First Internet Voting Application Used in U.S Federal Elections."