British crypto lender suffers $200 million hack

PARIS — Hackers on Monday stole almost $200 million from a British company that specializes in lending to crypto projects, a security firm said, in the biggest such attack for months. 

The security firm PeckShield pointed out the apparent hack to British lender Euler on Twitter, posting details of transactions it said showed losses of $197 million.

The China-based firm wrote a message to British lender Euler on Twitter saying: "Hi @eulerfinance: you may want to take a look".

PeckShield said the flurry of transactions by hackers seem to have exploited a flaw in Euler's system.

Euler said it was "aware" and "currently working with security professionals and law enforcement."

"We will release further information as soon as we have it," the lender said on Twitter.

The hack on Euler is the most substantial this year, according to crypto critic Molly White, who chronicles hacks and scams on her blog Web3 is Going Just Great.

White ranked the incident at number eight on the all-time list of biggest thefts -- though it is dwarfed by the crypto sector's biggest scams, some of which have run into billions of dollars.

The industry was flying high early last year, with the market in cryptocurrencies and digital tokens apparently worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

Crypto companies were taking out TV adverts, sponsoring sports teams and touting their technology as world-changing as they sought new investors among the general public.

But the sector has been shredded by a severe economic downturn, rampant criminality, crackdowns from regulators and the collapse of high-profile companies.

Agence France-Presse

Marriott says up to 500 million guests fall victim to hack

WASHINGTON - As many as 500 million guests at Marriott International hotels may have been victims of a hack that in most cases pilfered passport numbers or other key identifying data, the company announced Friday.

Marriott said it was alerted on September 8 that there had been an attempt to hack their reservation database in the United States. 

The hack is among the largest ever disclosed, prompting a big drop in Marriott shares and an investigation by New York Attorney General Barbara Underwood, who said on Twitter that "New Yorkers deserve to know that their personal information will be protected."

The company discovered "that there had been unauthorized access to the Starwood network since 2014," which compromised personal and financial information.

The probe found "an unauthorized party had copied and encrypted information and took steps towards removing it."

After decrypting the information, the company found on November 19 "that the contents were from the Starwood guest reservation database."

Hotel brands in the Starwood network include Sheraton, Westin, Four Points and W Hotels. Marriott completed a $13.6 billion acquisition of Starwood in 2016. The deal was announced in November 2015.

"We deeply regret this incident happened," Marriott chief Arne Sorenson said in a statement. "We fell short of what our guests deserve and what we expect of ourselves."

Marriott said hackers accessed information like names, addresses and dates of birth from most of the affected customers but could not rule out that they were also able to access some encrypted credit card information.

LATEST CASE

After reaching the deal with Marriott, Starwood disclosed in November 2015 that it suffered a hack on some hotels in North America, later determining that malware affected restaurants and gift shops but that there was no evidence the infiltration netted key consumer data, such as social security numbers or debit card codes.

Marriott's statement did not mention the earlier Starwood disclosure.

Marriott said it would reach out to victims of the hack and was offering support to those affected including free, one-year enrollment in WebWatcher, a service which monitors internet sites where personal data is shared.

Marriott also is working with law enforcement and security experts to tighten security on its system.

It is the latest case of massive breaches that have compromised personal data and can cause years of headaches for victims, who often face serious legal and financial repercussions.

Marriott said it was "premature" to estimate the financial hit from the breach and that it carried cyber insurance that could take care of some of the costs.

"The company does not believe this incident will impact its long-term financial health," Marriott said in a securities filing. "As a manager and franchisor of leading lodging brands, the company generates meaningful cash flow each year with only modest capital investment needed to grow the business."

Shares of Marriott slumped 5 percent to $115.81 in mid-morning trading.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Cryptocurrencies tumble after South Korea hack

HONG KONG - Cryptocurrencies plunged in Asia on Monday after a hack on a South Korean exchange sparked fresh concerns about the safety of the digital units.

The attack on Coinrail comes months after Japanese firm Coincheck said it had lost more than $500 million in a January hack.

Coinrail did not specify the value of the currency that was taken in the attack at the weekend but said it was working with authorities and other coin developers to track down the culprits.

The firm, which trades more than 50 cryptocurrencies, added that it had frozen all exposed coins -- Fundus X, Aston, and Enper -- and other units had been taken offline in a "cold wallet". 

The news sent cryptocurrencies tumbling, with bitcoin losing about 13 percent, ethereum down 12 percent and ripple almost 20 percent lower as traders fret over the safety of their investments.

"This is 'If it can happen to A, it can happen to B and it can happen to C,' then people panic because someone is selling," said Stephen Innes, head of Asia-Pacific trade at OANDA.

"The markets are so thinly traded, primarily by retail accounts, that these guys can get really scared out of positions," he said. "It actually doesn't take a lot of money to move the market significantly."

Cryptocurrencies have plunged since the end of 2017, when bitcoin hit a record high near $20,000, having surged from less than $1,000 just 11 months earlier. The unit is now worth around $6,780.

South Korea is one of the biggest markets for trading in digital currencies but the boom in their popularity has forced the government to tighten regulations, following similar moves in other countries.

Japan in February carried out raids on a number of exchanges following the Coinbase hack, which exceeded the $480 million in virtually currency stolen in 2014 from another Japanese exchange, MtGox. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Saks Fifth Avenue data breached: parent firm

WASHINGTON - A hack at Saks and Lord & Taylor stores in North America has compromised customer payment data, their parent company announced on Sunday.

Canadian-based Hudson's Bay Company did not say how many credit and debit cards were affected by the breach at upscale retailer Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF Fifth, and Lord & Taylor department stores.

News reports put it at 5 million and said hackers had put these numbers up for sale on the "dark web," where criminals operate.

"HBC has identified the issue, and has taken steps to contain it," the parent firm said of the intrusion, the latest affecting companies with large user bases.

It said there are no signs the breach has affected its e-commerce or other digital platforms, Hudson's Bay stores, Home Outfitters, or HBC Europe.

Customers will not be liable for any fraudulent charges made with their card data, the company said.

On Thursday, sports gear maker Under Armour said a hack of its fitness application affected about 150 million user accounts.

Yahoo, retailer Target and credit bureau Equifax are among those also having reported data breaches in recent years.

source: news.abs-cbn.com