False Sense Of Security

Trump’s Electronics Ban Is Ineffective, Says International Air Transport Association Chief

"Speaking to the Montreal Council on Foreign Relations, Alexandre de Juniac, director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), questioned the efficacy of the ban, which prohibits electronics larger than a cellphone on direct flights to the United States from 10 airports in the Middle East and North Africa. The regulations, prompted by reports that militant groups want to smuggle explosive devices in electronic gadgets, require that electronics larger than a cellphone, including laptops and tablets, must be stowed with checked baggage on U.S.-bound passenger flights." Continue reading →

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Trump plans laptop, electronics ban on all flights from Europe

"The rule is reportedly prompted by the difficulty of distinguishing plastic explosives from other components in electronic devices using an X-ray machine. But this explanation is baffling: a plastic explosive is every bit as dangerous in the hold of an airplane as it is in the cabin. What's more, placing a plastic-explosive charge in a hardsided case densely packed with lithium-battery-equipped devices seems an especially dangerous measure. Travelers to and from affected airports will now face the risk of having their laptops and tablets stolen, having their confidential data leaked, and having their devices broken." Continue reading →

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Thieves drain 2FA-protected bank accounts by abusing mobile networks

"The unidentified attackers exploited weaknesses in Signalling System No. 7, a telephony signaling language that more than 800 telecommunications companies around the world use to ensure their networks interoperate. SS7, as the protocol is known, makes it possible for a person in one country to send text messages to someone in another country. It also allows phone calls to go uninterrupted when the caller is traveling on a train. The same functionality can be used to eavesdrop on conversations, track geographic whereabouts, or intercept text messages." Continue reading →

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I never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

"You can imagine my surprise when I found out that SWIFT runs on Windows Vista - an obsolete operating system that Microsoft no longer supports. When my bank received its SWIFT code, we were told that we had to have a computer running Vista in the office in order to connect to SWIFT. It was such an absurd exercise to find an obsolete computer running an obsolete operating system to connect to the supposedly most advanced and important international payment network in the world. Unsurprisingly, SWIFT has been hacked numerous times, both by the NSA as well as private hackers who have stolen a great deal of money from their victims." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingI never knew how screwed up global banking was until I started my own bank

That Other Threat: Electronics Thefts From Checked Luggage

"In 2014, the Transportation Safety Administration said more than 500 baggage screeners had been fired since it was established in 2001, according to the Wall Street Journal. A CNN analysis found more than 30,000 property loss claims were filed by passengers with the TSA between 2010–14, most claiming valuables were taken from checked baggage. Under an international treaty known as the Montreal Convention (to which the US is a signatory), an airline’s liability for loss or damage to a passenger’s luggage is limited to the equivalent of about $1,360." Continue reading →

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Hackers steal 2 billion rubles at Russia’s central bank

"The central bank did not say when the heist occurred or how hackers moved the funds. But so far, the attack bears some similarity to a recent string of heists that has targeted the worldwide financial system. In January 2015, hackers got a hold of an Ecuadorian bank's codes for using SWIFT, the worldwide interbank communication network that settles transactions. In October, hackers used the same technique to slip into a bank in the Philippines. Two months later, hackers tried to make fraudulent requests at a commercial bank in Vietnam. They were stopped. This past February, computer hackers stole $101 million from Bangladesh's central bank -- also by gaining access to SWIFT." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Exchange Loses $60M In Hack; US Regulations ‘Prevented Cold Storage Use’

"Bitfinex was previously fined $75,000 by the CFTC for failing to register as an appropriate entity for the services it offered as well as: '[F]or offering illegal off-exchange financed retail commodity transactions in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.' These 'off-exchange' transactions could be alluding to the storage of funds offline — commonly known as cold storage — one of the best ways to keep your funds out of hackers’ reach. If this is indeed the case then the incident could undermine calls for more regulation as cryptocurrency exchanges face a dilemma between security and compliance." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Exchange Loses $60M In Hack; US Regulations ‘Prevented Cold Storage Use’