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☆ Record $3.8 billion stolen in crypto hacks last year, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —A record $3.8 billion worth of cryptocurrency was stolen from various services last year, with much of those thefts driven by North Korean-linked hackers, according to a report Wednesday from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. Some of the biggest crypto hacks of the year have since been attributed to North Korea. US officials worry Pyongyang will use money stolen from crypto hacks to fund its illicit nuclear and ballistic weapons program. While crypto hacks continued to rise last year, there is some cause for hope. Law enforcement and national security agencies are expanding their abilities to combat digital criminals, such as the FBI’s recovery of $30 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen in the Axie Infinity hack.

☆ Shoplifters have set fire to two Walmarts and a Target in Atlanta to create diversions while they steal
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Dominick Reuter | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Fires at two Walmarts in December and a Target on Monday are being investigated as arson. Officials tell local media the blazes appear to have been used as diversions for shoplifting. Officials in Atlanta confirmed to local media Tuesday that a fire at a Target on Monday was being investigated as arson, along with a pair of similar incidents at local Walmarts in December. The three blazes appear to have been set by shoplifters in order to distract attention from their heists, the Atlanta Fire Department said. Similar theft-related fires have broken out in cities and towns across the US, mostly at big-box stores including Walmart, Target, and Home Depot.

☆ FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto in hacker heists, the collapsed exchange's new bosses say
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto to hackers, its new bosses said Tuesday. "It has taken a Herculean investigative effort from our team to uncover this preliminary information," acting CEO John Ray said. Around $415 million of the assets for recovery had been lost in crypto hacks, FTX's new bosses said. Hackers stole $323 million from the Bahamas-based parent company FTX.com, $90 million from FTX, and $2 million from sister trading firm Alameda Research, according to the presentation. As well as the exchange's crypto and cash holdings, they identified $253 million worth of real estate in the Bahamas as potential assets for recovery in Tuesday's presentation.

☆ Sam Bankman-Fried says FTX's lawyers overlooked $428 million in cash – and the bankrupt crypto exchange has the funds to make US customers whole
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-18 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The collapsed crypto exchange's new bosses said FTX.US hasn't got enough funds to return customers' money. But Bankman-Fried pushed back and said they hadn't included $428 million of cash in the calculations. "Investigation has confirmed shortfalls at both International and US Exchanges," the exchange's lawyers Sullivan & Cromwell said in a presentation Tuesday. FTX.US filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November, alongside FTX International and its sister trading firm Alameda Research, among other companies under the FTX umbrella. Read more: FTX lost $415 million worth of crypto in hacker heists, the collapsed exchange's new bosses say

☆ Robbers pull off multimillion-dollar copper heist in Chilean port
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-11 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SANTIAGO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Chilean authorities said on Wednesday they were investigating a violent heist in Chile's main seaport where thieves stole several shipping containers filled with copper belonging to state-owned giant Codelco. In a statement to Reuters, Codelco said the copper was scheduled to be exported and was insured. The heist is the largest copper theft since a spate of gangster heists in northern Chile last October forced the government to tighten security on trains carrying copper cathodes. The violent robbery adds pressure over shipment security in the world's largest copper producer. Authorities blamed the train heists on international crime groups while police said Wednesday's heist could be a local group.

☆ There wasn’t a single bank robbery in Denmark last year
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-03 | by ( Hanna Ziady | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

London CNN —The number of bank robberies in Denmark fell to zero last year, as beefed-up security and reduced use of cash in the Nordic country make holdups less lucrative. In 2021, Denmark had just one bank robbery, according to data from Finance Denmark, an industry group for lenders. Increased camera surveillance, improved alarm systems and stronger cooperation with the police have helped to bring the number down, according to Michael Busk-Jepsen, director of digitalization at Finance Denmark. Of around 800 bank branches in Denmark, only about 20 still have staff handling deposits and withdrawals, Busk-Jepsen told CNN. Cash withdrawals have fallen by about 75% over the last six years, Bloomberg reported, citing central bank data.

☆ Part of 2019 Green Vault Heist Loot Recovered in Berlin
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-17 | by ( Tom Fairless | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

FRANKFURT—German authorities said they had recovered a significant part of the 18th-century treasures stolen three years ago from Dresden’s Royal Castle in one of the country’s biggest jewelry heists in recent memory. The jewels stolen from the opulent Green Vault collection in November 2019 included items assembled by Augustus the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Six men from Berlin are currently standing trial in Dresden accused of the theft.

☆ U.S. and Asian allies impose new sanctions on North Korea after ICBM test
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

South Korea’s foreign ministry announced sanctions on seven other individuals, including a Singaporean and a Taiwanese, and eight entities. The latest sanctions follow a Nov. 18 ICBM test by North Korea, part of a record-breaking spate of more than 60 missile launches this year. There are also concerns that the country may be about to resume nuclear weapons testing, which has been suspended since 2017. Decades of U.S.-led sanctions have failed to halt North Korea’s increasingly sophisticated missile and nuclear weapon programs. “Targeting senior officials inside North Korea responsible for WMD and missile activities and working with South Korea and Japan are important, but it is an inadequate and symbolic response to 60+ missile tests, including 8 ICBM tests,” said Anthony Ruggiero, who headed North Korea sanctions efforts under former President Donald Trump.

☆ Meet the key people involved in the passing of the torch at Ray Dalio's Bridgewater Associates
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Dan Defrancesco | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Co-CEOs of Bridgewater Associates Nir Bar Dea and Mark Bertolini. When it comes to the world of hedge funds, there's arguably no bigger name than Ray Dalio. It's not just the fact that Dalio grew Bridgewater Associates to the $150 billion behemoth that it is today. To be sure, Bridgewater isn't the only hedge fund in the midst of a changing of the guard. The dispute between billionaire Dan Och and Sculptor Capital Management doesn't seem like it'll be cooling off anytime soon.

☆ Although the crypto hype is fading, 3 VCs say there's still 'low-hanging fruit' opportunities in Web3 security and compliance. Here's why.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( April Joyner | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Despite the crypto winter and a funding slowdown, several VCs remain interested in Web3 security. Like in most other areas of the market, venture funding for cybersecurity has dropped this year. These are prime areas, in his view, for security startups to step in. In September, Solidus Labs made Insider's list of the most promising crypto startups of 2022. Crypto security, according to Seewald, is not so different from security for other tech applications.

"There is more asset allocation towards baskets that combine the top five or 10 crypto assets by market cap. TICK BY TICKMost active crypto ETP products are registered outside the United States, though, with Switzerland, Canada, Australia and Brazil racing ahead with spot crypto offerings. One reason is that U.S. regulators have turned down several applications for spot bitcoin funds, which mirror the cryptocurrency's price movements tick-by-tick, citing multiple reasons including a lack of surveillance-sharing agreements with regulated markets relating to the spot funds' underlying assets. The world's largest bitcoin fund, Grayscale Bitcoin Trust (GBTC.PK), is down 34% in the same time. At Grayscale's Bitcoin Trust, the AUM have tumbled to $12.2 billion from over $30 billion at the end of 2021, data from the firm showed.

☆ In the new thriller 'Emily the Criminal,' director John Patton Ford takes on the student loan crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-16 | by ( Annie Nova | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Emily the Criminal Courtesy: John Patton FordIn the new film "Emily the Criminal," the title character, played by actress Aubrey Plaza, is almost always in a state of fear. "I think fear is the great motivator of human beings," said John Patton Ford, 40, the film's screenwriter and director. Even if the plan survives Republican challenges, outstanding student loan debt will still exceed $1 trillion, and every year an additional 5 million Americans borrow for their education. Annie Nova: From the start of the film, Emily is in a really desperate financial situation. 'No other country would tolerate this'AN: Did you research the student loan crisis for the film?

☆ Cryptoverse: Hack jitters push bitcoin investors back to the future
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-11 | by ( Hannah Lang | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The global hardware wallet market, valued at $245 million in 2021, is expected to swell to over $1.7 billion by 2030, according to market research firm Straits Research. Reuters GraphicsBLOWING HOT AND COLDAlthough hot wallets are usually free and offer quick access to crypto, they can be vulnerable to hacks. In August, nearly 8,000 crypto wallets on the Solana blockchain were hit by hackers who made off with more than $5 million in crypto. loading"Users are strongly encouraged to use hardware wallets," Solana said at the time. France's Ledger, another hardware wallet maker, said it saw a spike in sales after the Solana wallets heist.

☆ Binance-linked blockchain hit by $570 million crypto theft
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-07 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

A Binance-linked blockchain was involved in a $570 million hack late Thursday, a company spokesperson confirmed to CNN Business on Friday. Binance temporarily suspended its blockchain network, BNB Smart Chain, “due to irregular activity,” the company tweeted Thursday. The company said Friday that hackers had stolen two million BNB cryptocurrency tokens – which are issued by Binance – worth about $570 million at the time. Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao initially tweeted that an estimated $100 million worth of crypto had been stolen. This latest attack put the BNB blockchain offline for about nine hours.

REUTERS/Benoit Tessier/File PhotoLONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - A blockchain linked to Binance, the world's largest crypto exchange, has been hit by a $570 million hack, a Binance spokesperson said on Friday, the latest in a series of hacks to hit the crypto sector this year. Criminals have increasingly targeted them, with some $2 billion stolen in 13 different hacks, mostly this year, researcher Chainalysis said in August. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe hackers stole around $100 million worth of crypto, Zhao said in his tweet. BNB Chain later said in a blog post that a total of 2 million of the BNB cryptocurrency - worth around $570 million - was withdrawn by the hacker. BNB Chain suspended its blockchain for several hours before resuming at around 0630 GMT, it said in a tweet.

☆ Bolsonaro's gun laws arm Brazil's brazen bank thieves
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Gabriel Stargardter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +10 min

In July, Reuters reported that Brazil's Federal Police disapproved of Bolsonaro's gun policies, arguing they would put more weapons in the hands of criminals. Of all the weapons now available to Brazil's gun fans, the T4 has emerged as the weapon of choice for its gangsters. A common tactic used by gangs - as seen in the case of Huijsman's T4 - is to steal weapons from CAC permit-holders' homes. On Oct. 31, 2021, Minas Gerais military police and Brazil's Federal Highway Police carried out two raids against alleged bank robbers hiding out near Varginha, killing 26 of them. Marques, the gun expert, said Huijsmans' rifle wouldn't be the last legally acquired firearm to turn up at a crime scene.

☆ Major crypto trader Wintermute hit by $160 million hack, CEO says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Tom Wilson | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterLONDON, Sept 20 (Reuters) - Hackers have stolen digital assets worth around $160 million from crypto trading firm Wintermute, its CEO tweeted on Tuesday, the latest heist to hit a sector long plagued by cybercrime. The firm, which provides liquidity across major crypto exchanges and trading platforms, remains solvent after the hack, he added. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterGaevoy and Wintermute did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Wintermute calls itself "one of the largest players" in global crypto markets. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Tom Wilson Editing by Alun John, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes and Louise HeavensOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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