Binance CEO pleads guilty to money laundering charges

The Binance chief executive, Changpeng Zhao, has resigned after pleading guilty to money laundering violations. The Justice Department said it was requiring Binance, the largest crypto-exchange in the world, to pay $4.3bn (£3.4bn) in penalties and forfeitures. It said Binance Read More …

Europol and Eurojust support Czech and Ukrainian police in taking down multi-million euro voice phishing gang

The Czech and Ukrainian police have disrupted, with the support of Europol and Eurojust, a prolific phishing gang believed to have defrauded victims across Europe of tens of millions of euros. In Czechia alone, the damage caused by this criminal Read More …

YouTube shows ads for ad blocker, financial scams

After performing local experiments for a few months, YouTube recently expanded its effort to block ad blockers. The move was immediately unpopular with some users, and raised some questions in Europe about whether it was breaking privacy laws. In addition, Read More …

Do government sanctions against ransomware groups work?

Earlier this year, the U.S. government imposed sanctions against Russian national Mikhail Matveev, an FBI most-wanted cybercriminal, who authorities accuse of being a “prolific ransomware affiliate” involved in cyberattacks in the United States and overseas. Authorities say Matveev played a Read More …

SolarWinds and its CISO accused of misleading investors before major cyberattack

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced charges against software company SolarWinds Corporation and its chief information security officer (CISO), Timothy G. Brown, for “fraud and internal control failures relating to allegedly known cybersecurity risks and vulnerabilities.” In 2020, Read More …

China crackdown on cyber scams in Southeast Asia nets thousands but leaves networks intact

Zhang Hongliang, a former restaurant manager in central China, took various gigs in and outside China to support his family after losing his job during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, a job offer to teach Chinese cooking at a restaurant Read More …

Booking.com customers targeted by scam ‘confirmation’ emails

Travellers using the popular hotel website Booking.com are being warned not to fall for scam emails asking them to confirm their hotel payment, after a hack of Booking.com’s email system. In recent weeks the Observer has been contacted by a Read More …

Rules of engagement issued to hacktivists after chaos

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has, for the first time, published rules of engagement for civilian hackers involved in conflicts. The organisation warns unprecedented numbers of people are joining patriotic cyber-gangs since the Ukraine invasion. The eight Read More …