Security Briefing: Extortionist ring exposed, possible ID honeypot discovered
An organized gang of robbers was targeting bitcoin owners in America in a scary spree. Let's dive in with this week's Security Briefing.
Florida man convicted for leading international plot to target U.S. crypto owners in their homes
A North Carolina federal jury convicted a 24-year-old Florida man for his leading role in a conspiracy to target U.S. residents in their homes, attack, and kidnap them in an attempt to drain them of their bitcoin and other digital assets.
The plot involves several robberies between September 2022 and July 2023 that took place in Florida, North Carolina, New York, and Texas. In one case, the robbers broke into a victim's home, assaulted them, zip-tied them, held them at gunpoint, and threatened even more violence against them and their spouse. All the while, the robbers drained more than $150,000 in crypto.
The robbers were sophisticated with their approach. According to prosecutors, they coordinated their plans with encrypted messaging apps, hacked email accounts, conducted personal surveillance on victim properties, and laundered the assets using "instant exchanges," DeFi protocols, and privacy coins such as Monero.
Remy St Felix was convicted of nine counts pertaining to wire fraud, kidnapping, Hobbs Act robbery, conspiracy, and brandishing a firearm in furtherance of crimes of violence. He faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.
🔒 Jameson's Take: As expected, criminals are exploring the ROI of physically targeting bitcoin holders. I'm seeing more organized gang activity in this sector. Learn to protect your bitcoin from physical threats, also known as $5 dollar wrench attacks, below.
Jameson Lopp
Report: ID verification provider for X and TikTok potentially left driver licenses exposed
An Israel-based ID verification provider left admin credentials exposed for longer than a year, leaving drivers' licenses vulnerable, according to a report from 404 Media.
AU10TIX matched pictures up to drivers' licenses to confirm authenticity. The credentials reportedly were floating around on Telegram beginning in March 2023. These credentials could have been used to access links to identity files.
The company has provided verification for Coinbase, X, Uber, Fiverr, and TikTok though respective timelines vary and it is not yet confirmed if or what data was leaked or who was affected.
🔑 Key Insight: ID verification providers are honeypots, and though companies shouldn't collect what they can't protect, there's no getting around providing ID in some cases. If you must provide U.S. identification to fulfill KYC and other requirements, opt for using a passport over a driver's license because it has no address information.
How are bitcoin ETF shares created and redeemed?
Where do spot ETF shares get created behind the scenes? Where is the bitcoin?
Our co-founder and CEO Nick Neuman is doing a series on the differences between spot ETFs and spot bitcoin. In this first installment, he dove into the mechanics of how shares are created and redeemed. Check out his tweet thread below.
Do you truly own bitcoin when you only deal in cash?
— Nick Neuman (@Nneuman) June 26, 2024
I’m going to be doing a series on the differences between spot ETFs and spot bitcoin.
Being an ETF noob, I wanted to learn about the creation/redemption process and how it affects your bitcoin ownership. 🧵
💡 Security tip: We're six months into the year, and that is about how often you should do a health check on your hardware wallets. Has it been a while since you used a key? The Casa app gives you automatic reminders on when to do a checkup on each key in your vault.
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