Security News Bites for the Week Ending June 9, 2023

Feds Remind Folks that Money Stored in Fintech Platforms Like eBay are at Risk

US consumers have billions of dollars stored on platforms like eBay, Venmo and a number of others. The feds want to remind you that if you do that, you are “self insuring”, meaning that maybe the platform will return your money if something happens, but maybe not. In fact, likely not. In addition, you are not protected from other, less likely events like interest rate changes and currency exchange rates. They suggest, if you are not a risk-embracing person, that you don’t leave money on these platforms – something, I am sure, the platforms are not thrilled to hear because they use your money to their benefit. Credit: Digital Insurance

Crypto Catastrophe – Atomic Wallet is Next

First FTX flushed billions down the sewer. Now the feds are going after Binance and Coinbase. In light of that, hackers stole between $35 and $50 million in crypto in an attack on Atomic Wallet. They keep finding more victims. Atomic Wallet is just that – a wallet. A piece of software. The company is not a coin custodian – just a user interface to manage your own coins. Software, of course, doesn’t have bugs and people manage software well. Whose fault is the attack? Is it a bug or is it poor cyber hygiene. Stay tuned and we will eventually find out. Credit: The Register

Non-Competes May be Unenforceable

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is adding its voice to the non-compete fight. This week the NLRB issued a memo saying that noncompete agreements in employment contracts violate federal labor law except in limited circumstances. If you use non-competes to stop your technical team from jumping ship to a competitor, that ship likely has sailed. Credit: Liskow & Lewis law

Putin Declares Martial Law – Deep Fakes Hit Russia

Last weekend the voice and likeness of Vladimir Putin appeared on radio and television in 3 border regions between Russia and Ukraine. Putin, in this fake address, declared martial law and a general mobilization of the country. He also recommended that people evacuate deep into Russia. Only thing, it was a double whammy – a deep fake combined with a hack. I guess sometimes deep fakes are useful. Credit: Vice

Counterfeit Network Gear – Its Real

Obur Aksoy was the CEO of 19 companies, 15 Amazon storefronts and 10eBay storefronts. He sold, the feds say, over a billion dollars of network gear retail, netting him over $100 million. He had been doing this since 2014 – until the feds caught him. If the price of gear seems too good, it probably is too good – not the gear, the price. Credit: Cybernews

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