Blockchain
Argentina Government Suffers $4 Million Ransomware Attack
On August 27, 2020, Argentina’s Official Immigration Agency and the National Migration Office learned of a cyber-attack on their systems. The Netwalker ransomware group demanded $4 million. As part of the government response, these agencies closed border crossings for hours. The attack came via a virus that left ransom notes on agency computers. The program […]
The post Argentina Government Suffers $4 Million Ransomware Attack appeared first on BeInCrypto.

On August 27, 2020, Argentina’s Official Immigration Agency and the National Migration Office learned of a cyber-attack on their systems.
The Netwalker ransomware group demanded $4 million. As part of the government response, these agencies closed border crossings for hours.
The attack came via a virus that left ransom notes on agency computers. The program attached itself to Microsoft Windows and Office files and then hid in network folders.
Those responsible for the attack first demanded $2 million dollars. When the immigration agency refused to pay, they upped their ask to $4 million, payable in bitcoin.
The Argentine Ministry of Public Finance described how several tech support calls alerted them to the crime:
At approximately 7 am on the appointed day (August 27) , the Directorate of Technology and Communications (part of the General Directorate of Information Systems and Technology) received numerous calls from various control posts requesting technical support.
In order to halt further infection, officials shut down computer networks. This would give them time to resolve the problem. However, it also ceased border crossings at migration checkpoints. Immigration officials waited four hours until the servers came back online.
Government sources stated that they,
will not negotiate with hackers and are not overly concerned about recovering data.
Presumably, Netwalker will not receive any ransom. Noble as it may be, it also puts user data at risk. Historically, ransomware groups have published stolen data when refused payment.
Since 2018, ransomware attacks have been increasing worldwide.


Outside Argentina: Netwalker and Ransomware
These days, it’s common to find cyber-attacks on major businesses and government entities. Hackers have even hit hospitals with extortion. The Netwalker gang is already a well-known ransomware group. It’s estimated to have made more than $25 million from hijacking computers in 2020.
In recent months, other Latin-American countries have been hit by large cyber-attacks. The State Bank of Chile found itself in a similar situation this week. However, in that case, the hackers used Sodinokibi ransomware, which rendered thousands of bank branches across the nation inoperative.
Elsewhere, Moises Broggi hospital in Catalonia, Spain, suffered a similar attack last weekend. A group of hackers demanded cryptocurrency in return for stolen user data. The attack interfered with patients’ treatment and may have led to negative health effects.
Interestingly, several groups of malicious hackers have pledged not to carry out digital robberies on hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Still, there’s no guarantee that unscrupulous cybercriminals will take this opportunity to lay off.
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Source: https://beincrypto.com/argentina-government-suffers-4-million-ransomware-attack/
Blockchain
Dogecoin is Everywhere: from Elon Musk to Mark Cuban to John McAfee


Dogecoin has become the center of attention of famous individuals once again. Mark Cuban said that his NBA team had become the largest DOGE merchant, Elon Musk made an electronic-god reference, while John McAfee used its growing popularity to defend his alleged pump and dump schemes.
McAfee Touted DOGE Before Musk
The love story between the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the popular meme coin is well-known within the cryptocurrency space. Musk has outlined his support for the asset on multiple occasions.
While some believed that the positive engagements with DOGE came from his trolling nature on social media platforms, Musk has repeatedly found different ways to promote the token. The latest one came on Saturday, as he said that “Doge spelled backwards is Egod.”
His support brought more famous individuals to the scene as well – names such as Snoop Dogg and Gene Simmons. Despite the long-term relationship between Musk and Doge, though, John McAfee recently highlighted that he touted the asset long before Tesla’s CEO.
Much of the new allegations from the Feds are about my “coin of the day”. For a few days in 2017 I chose coins I believed had value.
One of them was Doge – now being touted years later by Elon Musk. The coin has increased well over 1000% since I chose it.
Not a pump and dump.
— John McAfee (@officialmcafee) March 7, 2021
McAfee was indicted days ago from the US DOJ for multiple criminal offenses, including his alleged involvement in pump and dump schemes with his “Coin of the Day” campaign. Several years ago, the former antivirus tycoon promoted small-cap altcoins that he supposedly believed were undervalued, but US authorities claimed that he made more than $13 million from illicit schemes.
McAfee argued that the allegations are “overblown” and that he indeed considered those coins to have immense potential. One of them was Dogecoin, which, in his words, “has increased well over 1,000% since I chose it.” Ultimately, he concluded that this was “not a pump and dump.”
Mavs Are the Biggest DOGE Merchant
Another Doge-related engagement from high-net-worth individuals came from the owner of the Dallas Mavericks – Mark Cuban. The billionaire and his NBA team recently announced that they had started accepting Dogecoin payments for game tickets and merchandise on the online store.
A few days later, Cuban updated the community on the performance of this new initiative. He said that the Mavs had received more than 20,000 DOGE in transactions, making them “the largest Dogecoin merchant in the world.”
Furthermore, the start of the reality TV series Shark Tank predicted that DOGE will “definitely” reach $1. With a current price of $0.056, the asset would need a 1,700% increase to reach that milestone.
The @dallasmavs have done more than 20,000 #Dogecoin in transactions, making us the LARGEST #DOGECOIN MERCHANT IN THE WORLD ! We thank all of you and can only say that if we sell another 6,556,000,000 #DOGECOIN worth of Mavs merch, #dogecoin will DEFINITELY HIT $1 !!!🚀🚀🚀
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) March 6, 2021
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Source: https://cryptopotato.com/dogecoin-is-everywhere-from-elon-musk-to-mark-cuban-to-john-mcafee/
Blockchain
Brad Garlinghouse: XRP Will Continue Trading Even if Ripple Goes Away


With the impending legal battle between the SEC and Ripple, the CEO of the payment processor said that XRP will endure even if the company doesn’t.
Simultaneously, Jesse Powell, the CEO of the veteran US exchange, Kraken, believes that offering XRP trading carries “huge asymmetrical risk.”
XRP Will Endure, Says Ripple CEO
Ever since the US Securities and Exchange Commission brought charges against Ripple for conducting an unregistered security offering, the company’s executives have tried to defend their position multiple times.
During the latest such attempt, the CEO, Brad Garlinghouse, called the lawsuit “misguided” and noted that XRP had traded in the US for eight years before the allegations emerged.
Furthermore, he laid his case on why Ripple’s native token is not a security and promised that the asset will survive even if Ripple ceases to exist.
“If you own a security, it gives you ownership of a company. If Ripple goes away, XRP will continue trading.”
Garlinghouse explained that numerous other countries, such as Singapore, Switzerland, and Japan, all have “clarity and certainty” that XRP is not a security. In contrast, the US is “the only country on the planet that has suggested that XRP is a security.”
Consequently, the executive doubled-down on a previous narrative stating that the lawsuit against Ripple is “bad” for the entire cryptocurrency industry, not just the payment processor. This is pushing entrepreneurs to seek other options as they plan to leave the US.
It’s worth noting that Ripple is one of those companies that contemplated moving outside the US even before the SEC’s charges became official.
Trading XRP Carries Asymmetrical Risk
While Garlinghouse believes that XRP will continue trading even if Ripple is no more, Kraken’s CEO recently highlighted the potential “asymmetrical” risks for exchanges during these uncertain times for the token.
He assumed that the Commission has acted in “good faith” when bringing the charges and believes that judges ultimately “tend to side with agencies.”
As such, Powell asserted that if the SEC wins, then the watchdog would “say that exchanges should have known.”
Huge asymmetrical risk for exchanges. Have to assume SEC’s case is in good faith. Judges tend to side with agencies. If XRP found to be a security, SEC would say that exchanges should have known. Safe harbor pending outcome would have been responsible if only purpose is to “test” https://t.co/KnA71Bebg0
— Jesse Powell (@jespow) March 6, 2021
Although Kraken took its time before making it official, the veteran US exchange joined the list of trading venues that removed XRP in January this year.
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Source: https://cryptopotato.com/brad-garlinghouse-xrp-will-continue-trading-even-if-ripple-goes-away/
Blockchain
Ultra (UOS) hits a new all-time high as blockchain gaming and NFTs boom

Video games and online gaming have become some of the largest industries on the planet over the past thirty years as digital technology and the internet have interconnected people from around the world and transformed us into a global society.
Decentralization and blockchain technology are gathering steam as a transformative new way to operate and build an ecosystem, and Ultra (UOS) is one gaming-focused project that has been gaining momentum in recent months.
Ultra, a blockchain-based PC game distribution platform, is created for gamers and game developers and it allows users to develop multiple revenue streams, including the ability to resell games and in-game items.
Developers for the project have created a customized version of the EOSIO blockchain designed to offer free user account creation and higher transaction throughput through better resource allocation.
Data from Cointelegraph Markets and TradingView shows that UOS surged 225% over the past month as the price rallied from $0.132 on Feb. 1 to an all-time high of $0.42 on Feb. 22.

As seen on the chart above, UOS trading volume hit a record $31 million on Feb. 21 and Feb. 22 following its listing on Bithumb.
NFT popularity provides a boost to Ultra
Non-fungible tokens are one of the fastest-growing trends in cryptocurrency currently and UOS has benefited from their growth. The developers at Ultra have been focused on the technology underlying NFTs as they can enable unique in-game items to be resold in multiple marketplaces and eventually on decentralized exchanges.
Interoperability between blockchain platforms is also a major topic in the crypto ecosystem, and the team at Ultra is developing and beta testing a new mainnet that will retain the ability to operate on Ethereum.
While UOS is interoperable with the EOSIO blockchain, Ultra developers are also exploring NFT interoperability with several other blockchains including The Sandbox (SAND) and Elrond (EGLD). The project also has an evolving partnership withTheta that will enable live streaming gameplay and cross-chain NFT transfers.
Aside from its main association with the gaming giant Ubisoft, recent partnerships with globally recognized companies like semiconductor manufacturer AMD and Atari have also helped propel UOS price higher in 2021.
Big-name partnerships, cross-chain interoperability and the growth of the NFT sector have Ultra well-positioned to benefit from the bullish momentum in the cryptocurrency market.
The games sector is expected to continue its exponential growth for the foreseeable future and as blockchain gaming becomes more popular, UOS could benefit from having the first-mover advantage.
The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph.com. Every investment and trading move involves risk, you should conduct your own research when making a decision.
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Source: https://cointelegraph.com/news/ultra-uos-hits-a-new-all-time-high-as-blockchain-gaming-and-nfts-boom
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