Hello friends and welcome to Daily Crunch, bringing you the most important startup, tech and venture capital news in a single package.
Rather than steal credentials or hold data for ransom, a recent campaign observed by Sophos prevents people from visiting sites that offer illegal downloads.
The objective of most malware is some kind of gain — financial or otherwise — for the attackers who use it. However, researchers recently observed a unique malware with a single intent: Blocking the infected computers from visiting websites dedicated to software piracy.
The malware (which SophosLabs principal researcher Andrew Brandt called “one of the strangest cases I’ve seen in a while”) works by modifying the HOSTS file on the infected system, in a “a crude but effective method to prevent a computer from being able to reach a web address,” he wrote in a report published Thursday.
## GENERAL FUSION (VANCOUVER) • JUN 16, 2021.
# General Fusion to build its Fusion Demonstration Plant in the UK, at the UKAEA Culham Campus.
*Unlike conventional nuclear power, which involves fission or splitting atoms, the emerging fusion technology promises clean energy where the only emission would be helium, and importantly, no radioactive waste.*
Two brothers in South Africa have disappeared along with $3.6 billion worth of bitcoin that was housed on their cryptocurrency investment platform, according to a Cape Town law firm hired by investors to investigate the alleged heist.
The law firm, Hanekom Attorneys, said it has reported the incident to the Hawks, an elite unit of South Africa’s national police force. Hanekom has also reported the matter to South African financial regulators and crypto exchanges around the world.
The brothers, Ameer and Raees Cajee, set up their crypto investment service, Africrypt, in 2019.
Putting IT security practices in place will enable organizations to prevent ransomware attacks and help IT teams combat security challenges.
According to Check Point research, the number of organizations affected by ransomware has been growing at 9% monthly since the start of the year. From WannaCry, Petya, and SamSam to Ryuk, these ransomware attacks have caused huge financial and reputation losses for both public and private sector organizations – the recent attacks on Colonial Pipeline are just the latest example.
Organizations are in a tight spot to prevent these cyberattacks and safeguard what they have built over the years. While IT teams are already battling the challenges of securing remote endpoints in the changing work sphere, the rise in cyberattacks has added additional responsibilities on their shoulders.
The Export-Import Bank of the U.S. has arranged financing for the SpaceX launch of a Hispasat satellite, the first space deal it has done in six years.
WASHINGTON — The Export-Import Bank of the United States has arranged financing for the SpaceX launch of a Hispasat satellite, the first space deal the bank has done in six years.
Ex-Im announced June 21 that it approved $80.7 million in financing for a Falcon 9 launch of a Hispasat satellite, Amazonas Nexus, as well as launch and initial in-orbit insurance. The bank said the financing will be in the form of either a direct loan or a loan guarantee.
Another DeFi project on the Binance Smart Chain has been exploited. This time, attackers nabbed $500000 from Impossible Finance.
That could reshape the Indian market, which has very few internet companies. While big tech firms are among the largest listed companies in China and the U.S., energy, financials and IT outsourcers currently dominate the Indian market. Reliance Industries —India’s biggest listed company, controlled by the country’s richest man—is pivoting away from oil and gas and last year secured investments from Facebook and Google for its tech unit, Jio Platforms.
Companies such as Zomato, Flipkart and fintech giant Paytm are considering initial public offerings in what could be a transformative moment for India’s stock market.
Goldman Sachs ramps up bitcoin trading in new partnership with Mike Novogratz’s Galaxy Digital.
The bank has begun trading bitcoin futures with Galaxy Digital, the crypto merchant bank founded by Mike Novogratz, CNBC has learned.
The trades represent the first time that Goldman has used a digital assets firm as a counterparty since the investment bank set up its cryptocurrency desk last month, according to Galaxy co-president Damien Vanderwilt.
A Middle Eastern advanced persistent threat (APT) group has resurfaced after a two-month hiatus to target government institutions in the Middle East and global government entities associated with geopolitics in the region in a rash of new campaigns observed earlier this month.
Sunnyvale-based enterprise security firm Proofpoint attributed the activity to a politically motivated threat actor it tracks as TA402, and known by other monikers such as Molerats and GazaHackerTeam.
The threat actor is believed to be active for a decade, with a history of striking organizations primarily located in Israel and Palestine, and spanning multiple verticals such as technology, telecommunications, finance, academia, military, media, and governments.
