A UK-based security analyst who attempted to blackmail the bio lab where he worked out of £300,000 ($390,000) has been sentenced to almost four years in prison. Twenty-seven-year-old Ashley Liles pleaded guilty in May to blackmail and the unauthorized modification of computer material following an attack on Hertfordshire-based gene therapy firm Oxford Biomedica in February 2018. Liles was part of the team charged with investigating the data breach. However, instead of trying to track down the real culprit, Liles attempted to turn the attack to his own advantage by switching the original blackmail email and changing the payment address. According to Oxford Biomedica’s CEO, Liles’ actions caused “reputational damage and outside costs of £245,000.” According to prosecutors, Liles accessed the email account of Oxford Biomedica’s former business officer Peter Nolan 320 times between March 2 and March 9, 2018. During this time, he changed the details of the hacker’s crypto address to point to his own bitcoin wallet in an attempt to pocket the #cryptocurrency ransom. Liles also created an email account similar to the hacker’s to pressure the company into paying up but Oxford Biomedica never handed over any #crypto. During the investigation into the breach, Liles pretended to cooperate. However, authorities soon discovered that he was, in fact, accessing Nolan’s emails via company computers. When Liles realized the police were closing in, he attempted to wipe any data linking him to the crime. However, he failed and during his arrest, his computer, laptop, phone, and USB stick were seized. Liles was sentenced on July 11 to 43 months in prison. He will serve half of his sentence before being released on license (a set of strict rules that must be followed outside of prison). Liles’ barrister said his ‘lack of maturity’ pushed him to commit the crime, adding that Liles is “at a loss as to how he found himself committing these offenses. He’s not had any financial gain and he’s lost a huge amount — a good career, a good name,” (Via Oxford Mail). ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBLfvVRnAtE

Jack Mallers is an American entrepreneur and software developer known for his work in the cryptocurrency industry, particularly in the field of Bitcoin. He gained recognition for creating the software application called Zap, which is a Bitcoin wallet and Lightning Network interface. Mallers was born on October 9, 1993, in Chicago, Illinois, United States. He comes from a family with a background in finance and trading, and he developed an interest in Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies at a young age. Mallers attended the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he studied finance and economics. In 2017, Mallers launched Zap, a user-friendly Bitcoin wallet that also integrates with the Lightning Network. The Lightning Network is a layer-2 protocol built on top of the Bitcoin blockchain that enables faster and cheaper transactions. Zap became popular for its intuitive design and ability to make micropayments using Bitcoin. Mallers has been an advocate for the Lightning Network and has worked towards its adoption and usability. He has given talks and presentations at various conferences and events to promote the technology and its benefits. Mallers has also been involved in developing tools and services to support Bitcoin and the Lightning Network ecosystem. In recent years, Mallers gained significant attention for his involvement in the El Salvador Bitcoin adoption project. In 2021, he partnered with the government of El Salvador to launch Strike, a payment app that allows users to send and receive Bitcoin instantly and at a low cost. This initiative aimed to promote financial inclusion and provide an alternative to traditional banking services in the country. Jack Mallers is regarded as a prominent figure in the Bitcoin community, particularly for his contributions to the Lightning Network and his efforts to drive cryptocurrency adoption. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Y4f7xvl2bs

The crypto market is again under the spotlight. This time it is due to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) lawsuits against leading crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance and increasing scrutiny. This has led to questions, debates, and theories about the SEC’s motives. One such theory suggests that the SEC is trying to undermine these crypto giants. The goal is to pave the way for Wall Street to assert dominance over the cryptocurrency market. Wall Street Giants Enter the Crypto Market In the current digital era, some of the finance industry’s most recognized names, such as Standard Chartered, Nomura, and Charles Schwab, are building cryptocurrency trading platforms. Gautam Chhugani, Senior Analyst at Bernstein, believes fund managers will be more inclined towards their trusted brands. This contrasts with trusting opaque crypto exchanges like Binance and Coinbase that currently rule the industry. “The large, pedigreed, traditional institutional investors definitely prefer dealing with counterparties who they know have been in existence for years and have been regulated in the traditional sense,” said Chhugani. The push from Wall Street comes amid a tumultuous period for the cryptocurrency market. Several crypto exchanges and lending platforms, including FTX, Celsius, and Voyager, collapsed last year, highlighting the inherent risks of these largely unregulated businesses. Against this backdrop, traditional financial institutions hope that their brand reputation and industry expertise, untouched by the recent wave of crypto scandals, will lure fund managers to their new platforms. “Lots of institutional players are testing different bits of activity to test the waters, build a bit of experience in the market but also . . . making sure they have an option for further growth avenues,” said Alexandre Birry, Chief Analytical Officer at S&P Global Ratings. Regulatory Storm Hits Major Crypto Exchanges Recent actions taken by the SEC against major crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase are raising concerns in the crypto space. The SEC charged Binance, the world’s largest crypto exchange, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, with multiple regulatory violations. These include allegations of co-mingling billions of dollars of user funds. Additionally, subverting their own controls to allow high-net-worth US investors to continue trading on Binance’s unregulated international exchange. “Through thirteen charges, we allege that Zhao and Binance entities engaged in an extensive web of deception, conflicts of interest, lack of disclosure, and calculated evasion of the law,” said Gary Gensler, the SEC’s chairman. On the other hand, the SEC sued Coinbase, asserting that the company was acting as an unregistered broker and exchange. According to the regulator, Coinbase’s flagship prime brokerage, exchange, and staking programs violate securities laws. “We allege that Coinbase, despite being subject to the securities laws, commingled and unlawfully offered exchange, broker-dealer, and clearinghouse functions,” affirmed Gensler. The SEC lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase have instigated multiple debates. Indeed, some wonder whether the regulator intends to put the crypto exchanges out of business to pave the way for Wall Street to take over. The Power Play in the Crypto Industry The entry of traditional financial institutions into the crypto market could be a game-changer. These institutions leverage their industry expertise to create companies that provide a safer, more reliable alternative to the current crypto exchanges. They are building their infrastructure along more traditional lines, distancing themselves from the opaque and often scandal-hit crypto industry. Prominent broker Charles Schwab and market makers Citadel Securities and Virtu Financial, are part of the consortium backing EDX Markets. Concurrently, UK-based financial institution Standard Chartered supports the exchange Zodia Markets and the custody service provider Zodia Custody. “They wanted to build an exchange they felt comfortable trading on,” said Jamil Nazarali, CEO of EDX Markets This strategic shift could potentially disrupt the dominance of incumbent crypto exchanges such as Binance or Coinbase. Should Wall Street-backed crypto companies succeed in wooing institutional asset managers, a new era of transparency, regulation, and stability could dawn on the crypto industry. The Future of the Crypto Market with Wall Street The SEC lawsuits against Binance and Coinbase and Wall Street’s entry into the crypto space may indicate a shift in the crypto industry. With these actions, the SEC seems to be aiming to regulate the crypto industry more stringently. This could pave the way for traditional financial institutions to take a more significant role. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94zaFpRsIc8

A disbarred attorney has been ordered to pay $243 million for his role in a student loan scam and for concealing crypto assets from the government during its investigation. Kaine Wen served as general counsel for Consumer Advocacy Group, a company that did business under the name Premier Student Loan Center. The firm would call Americans across the country and convince them to seek student loan debt relief — but charged upfront service and legal fees. Wen was suspended by the State Bar Court of California in 2018 over his role at Consumer Advocacy Group. He admitted to illegally practicing law outside of California, collecting legal fees in jurisdictions he wasn’t allowed to, and for sharing legal fees with Consumer Advocacy Group. The firm was subsequently sued in 2019 by the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the states of North Carolina, California, and Minnesota. The plaintiffs claimed that the company and its various entities collected millions in unlawful fees from students hoping to have their loan debts forgiven or partially relieved. Over a series of settlements reached with the court between 2020 and 2022, Consumer Advocacy Group, its related entities, and relief defendants were ordered to pay a combined total of nearly $400 million and an additional $33 million in penalties, most of which went to the CFPB. The CFTB announced that it would be compensating over 87,000 victims of the student loan scam with a distribution of $95 million. Wen’s case, however, remained pending. The now-disbarred lawyer was held in contempt in January 2022 for not disclosing his cryptocurrency wallets, apparently violating a disclosure and transfer order. In an opposition filed in April 2022, Wen’s lawyers explained that he had no access to the wallets because he was in federal prison. He said that he had already paid $1.5 million more than he ever made in the student loan business and would happily hand over his #crypto. Now, a #California federal judge has ruled that Wen and his companies must pay $243 million in redress and civil penalties — more than any other firm or individual associated with the case. Student loan scams may be nothing new, but several officials have warned that they may be on the rise. The Supreme Court denied President Biden’s student loan forgiveness plan at the end of June — leaving many with their hopes dashed. Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned those with student debt that they likely have a target on their backs. Scammers would probably pose as an employee of the US Department of Education and offer bogus loan assistance. The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Robocall Response Team issued a similar warning, saying that scammers would use robocalls and robotexts to lure victims. “Scam calls and texts often use broadly publicized current events to add legitimacy and familiarity to their fraudulent schemes,” the FCC explained. The commission gave several tips to those with student loans in order to stay vigilant. If you’re contacted via a messaging app, pressured into making payments or providing personal info, or directed to any website that’s not studentaid.gov — beware. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9FiF6RXn80