Security News

Mastercard announced it will enhance its card program for cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges, making it simpler for partners to convert cryptocurrency to traditional fiat currency. Working with Evolve Bank & Trust and Paxos Trust Company, the leading blockchain infrastructure and regulated stablecoin issuance platform, and Circle, a global financial technology firm and the principal operator of the USD Coin, a dollar digital currency or stablecoin, Mastercard and its partners will test this new capability to enable more banks and crypto companies to offer a card option to people wanting to spend their digital assets anywhere Mastercard is accepted.

The US has also blamed hackers working with China for ransomware attacks, extortion, crypto-jacking and other cybercrimes. The United States and several allies have officially pointed the finger at China for the recent hack of Microsoft Exchange server as well as an ongoing series of cyberattacks carried out by contract hackers for personal profit.

The Microsoft Exchange Server attacks earlier this year were "Systemic cyber sabotage" carried out by Chinese state hacking crews including private contractors working for a spy agency, the British government has said. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said this morning in a statement: "The cyber attack on Microsoft Exchange Server by Chinese state-backed groups was a reckless but familiar pattern of behaviour. The Chinese Government must end this systematic cyber sabotage and can expect to be held to account if it does not."

The United States and its allies have officially attributed the Microsoft Exchange server attacks disclosed in early March to hackers affiliated with the Chinese government. In a statement, the White House accused China of using "Criminal contract hackers" to conduct cyber operations.

US and allies, including the European Union, the United Kingdom, and NATO, are officially blaming China for this year's widespread Microsoft Exchange hacking campaign. The Biden administration attributes "With a high degree of confidence that malicious cyber actors affiliated with PRC's MSS conducted cyber espionage operations utilizing the zero-day vulnerabilities in Microsoft Exchange Server disclosed in early March 2021.".

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The Federal Bureau of Investigation warns cryptocurrency owners, exchanges, and third-party payment platforms of threat actors actively targeting virtual assets in attacks that can lead to significant financial losses. The FBI issued the warning via a TLP:GREEN Private Industry Notification designed to provide cybersecurity professionals with the information required to properly defend against these ongoing attacks.

The UK's financial watchdog has fired a warning shot across the bow of Binance, and ordered it to place a notice on binance.com scaring off Brit crypto fans. This seems to have come about because Binance, which is ultimately based in the Cayman Islands, wanted to launch an exchange in the UK using its London-based affiliate Binance Markets Ltd. Since the start of the year, cryptocurrency firms in Britain have had to register with the nation's Financial Conduct Authority and meet its anti-money-laundering and anti-terrorism-funding requirements.

Cryptocurrency exchange service Binance played an important part in the recent arrests of Clop ransomware group members, helping law enforcement in their effort to identify, and ultimately detain the suspects. Using the name FANCYCAT to refer to the group, Binance says that the criminals were laundering money resulting from ransomware attacks and various other illegal activities.

Cisco's Talos team said 35% of incidents led back to Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities reported early in 2021, but new ransomware families have been appearing to fill the Emotet hole, too. Cisco's Talos Intelligence Group has released its incident response trends report for spring 2021, and found that Microsoft Exchange Server vulnerabilities reported in early 2021 were the most detected incident over the past three months.