Cyberattacks - Ongoing, mounting threat?

[Sue (Ayt)]

The facebook/Instagram hack thread this morning, along with reports about a major healthcare hack in the US prompt this thread.

I am starting it here as a place for consolidation of reports and discussions about the various cyber attacks, and the patterns we are seeing emerge. These events do appear to be ramping up, right along with that Obama movie, "Leave the World Behind" (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?122365-Movie-Leave-the-World-Behind&highlight=Leave+the+world)foreshadowing. I am thinking the folks here can take notice and maybe get some good discussion on what is or could be happening with this.

I will start here with links to two articles about an ongoing Ransomware attack that I find pretty alarming.

Calls Mount for Government Help as Change Healthcare Hack Freezes Medical Payments
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/calls-mount-for-government-help-as-change-healthcare-hack-freezes-medical-payments-9545d2e3)
Hospitals and lawmakers call on Medicare and Medicaid to advance payments amid revenue crunch two weeks after hack of UnitedHealth unit

Federal intervention is desperately needed to help ease a healthcare-sector crisis that began almost two weeks ago with a cyberattack on a key medical technology company that handles insurance filings, lawmakers and trade bodies say.

UnitedHealth Group-owned Optum said it was forced to disconnect over 100 systems at its Change Healthcare unit, following a ransomware attack on Feb. 21. The move brought insurance payments and other services to a halt for providers across the U.S.

The American Hospital Association wrote Congressional leaders Monday to plead for government assistance. The trade group said the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should begin issuing advance payments to providers to lessen the financial burden they face.

“The healthcare system needs certainty that the cash needed to finance patient care is going to flow,” said Molly Smith, group vice president for public policy at the AHA, which counts nearly 5,000 hospitals in its membership.

The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees CMS, didn’t respond to a request for comment.
<snip>
The downed systems, which together comprise the largest U.S. clearinghouse for medical insurance billings and payments, and cover a range of other areas including prescription-processing, have caused severe problems for hospitals, pharmacies, clinics and other healthcare providers.

Unable to easily submit billing to insurance providers, many care organizations haven’t taken in any revenue since the attack started two weeks ago. Some care providers have furloughed staff and are concerned about their ability to remain open.
More at link
(https://www.wsj.com/articles/calls-mount-for-government-help-as-change-healthcare-hack-freezes-medical-payments-9545d2e3)

And - the next article points to the possibility that the ransom was actually paid to the attackers!

Hackers Behind the Change Healthcare Ransomware Attack Just Received a $22 Million Payment (https://www.wired.com/story/alphv-change-healthcare-ransomware-payment/)
The transaction, visible on Bitcoin's blockchain, suggests the victim of one of the worst ransomware attacks in years may have paid a very large ransom.

"The ransomware attack targeting medical firm Change Healthcare has been one of the most disruptive in years, crippling pharmacies across the US—including those in hospitals—and leading to serious snags in the delivery of prescription drugs nationwide for 10 days and counting. Now, a dispute within the criminal underground has revealed a new development in that unfolding debacle: One of the partners of the hackers behind the attack points out that those hackers, a group known as AlphV or BlackCat, received a $22 million transaction that looks very much like a large ransom payment.

On March 1, a Bitcoin address connected to AlphV received 350 bitcoins in a single transaction, or close to $22 million based on exchange rates at the time. Then, two days later, someone describing themselves as an affiliate of AlphV—one of the hackers who work with the group to penetrate victim networks—posted to the cybercriminal underground forum RAMP that AlphV had cheated them out of their share of the Change Healthcare ransom, pointing to the publicly visible $22 million transaction on Bitcoin's blockchain as proof."
more at link (https://www.wired.com/story/alphv-change-healthcare-ransomware-payment/)

(Hoping we can continue to add any future cyber warfare events and discussions as to the agendas behind them here.)

[ExomatrixTV]

See also all responses on this super recent Project Avalon Forum thread: Facebook (Instagram/Whatsapp) Severe Lockout (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?122785-Facebook-severe-lockout)

[Sue (Ayt)]

Does anyone else find this ominous?
:worried:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 5, 2024
Contact: HHS Press Office
202-690-6343
media@hhs.gov
HHS Statement Regarding the Cyberattack on Change Healthcare

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is aware that Change Healthcare – a unit of UnitedHealth Group (UHG) – was impacted by a cybersecurity incident in late February. HHS recognizes the impact this attack has had on health care operations across the country. HHS’ first priority is to help coordinate efforts to avoid disruptions to care throughout the health care system.

HHS is in regular contact with UHG leadership, state partners, and with numerous external stakeholders to better understand the nature of the impacts and to ensure the effectiveness of UHG’s response. HHS has made clear its expectation that UHG does everything in its power to ensure continuity of operations for all health care providers impacted and HHS appreciates UHG’s continuous efforts to do so. HHS is also leading interagency coordination of the Federal government’s related activities, including working closely with the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the White House, and other agencies to provide credible, actionable threat intelligence to industry wherever possible.

HHS refers directly to UHG for updates on their incident response progress and recovery planning. However, numerous hospitals, doctors, pharmacies and other stakeholders have highlighted potential cash flow concerns to HHS stemming from an inability to submit claims and receive payments. HHS has heard these concerns and is taking direct action and working to support the important needs of the health care community.

Today, HHS is announcing immediate steps that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) is taking to assist providers to continue to serve patients. CMS will continue to communicate with the health care community and assist, as appropriate. Providers should continue to work with all their payers for the latest updates on how to receive timely payments.

Affected parties should be aware of the following flexibilities in place:
Medicare providers needing to change clearinghouses that they use for claims processing during these outages should contact their Medicare Administrative Contractor (MAC) to request a new electronic data interchange (EDI) enrollment for the switch. The MAC will provide instructions based on the specific request to expedite the new EDI enrollment. CMS has instructed the MACs to expedite this process and move all provider and facility requests into production and ready to bill claims quickly. CMS is strongly encouraging other payers, including state Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) agencies and Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans, to waive or expedite solutions for this requirement.
CMS will issue guidance to Medicare Advantage (MA) organizations and Part D sponsors encouraging them to remove or relax prior authorization, other utilization management, and timely filing requirements during these system outages. CMS is also encouraging MA plans to offer advance funding to providers most affected by this cyberattack.

CMS strongly encourages Medicaid and CHIP managed care plans to adopt the same strategies of removing or relaxing prior authorization and utilization management requirements, and consider offering advance funding to providers, on behalf of Medicaid and CHIP managed care enrollees to the extent permitted by the State.
If Medicare providers are having trouble filing claims or other necessary notices or other submissions, they should contact their MAC for details on exceptions, waivers, or extensions, or contact CMS regarding quality reporting programs.
CMS has contacted all of the MACs to make sure they are prepared to accept paper claims from providers who need to file them. While we recognize that electronic billing is preferable for everyone, the MACs must accept paper submissions if a provider needs to file claims in that method.

CMS has also heard from providers about the availability of accelerated payments, like those issued during the COVID-19 pandemic. We understand that many payers are making funds available while billing systems are offline, and providers should take advantage of those opportunities. However, CMS recognizes that hospitals may face significant cash flow problems from the unusual circumstances impacting hospitals’ operations, and – during outages arising from this event – facilities may submit accelerated payment requests to their respective servicing MACs for individual consideration. We are working to provide additional information to the MACs about the specific items and information a provider’s request should contain. Specific information will be available from the MACs later this week.

This incident is a reminder of the interconnectedness of the domestic health care ecosystem and of the urgency of strengthening cybersecurity resiliency across the ecosystem. That’s why, in December 2023, HHS released a concept paper that outlines the Department’s cybersecurity strategy for the sector. The concept paper builds on the National Cybersecurity Strategy that President Biden released last year, focusing specifically on strengthening resilience for hospitals, patients, and communities threatened by cyber-attacks. The paper details four pillars for action, including publishing new voluntary health care-specific cybersecurity performance goals, working with Congress to develop supports and incentives for domestic hospitals to improve cybersecurity, increasing accountability within the health care sector, and enhancing coordination through a one-stop shop.
HHS will continue to communicate with the health care sector and encourage continued dialogue among affected parties. We will continue to communicate with UHG, closely monitor their ongoing response to this cyberattack, and promote transparent, robust response while working with the industry to close any gaps that remain.

HHS also takes this opportunity to encourage all providers, technology vendors, and members of the health care ecosystem to double down on cybersecurity, with urgency. The system and the American people can ill afford further disruptions in care. Please visit the HPH Cyber Performance Goals website for more details on steps to stay protected.

https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2024/03/05/hhs-statement-regarding-the-cyberattack-on-change-healthcare.html

[Sue (Ayt)]

How a health-care cyberattack may affect your prescription drug access (https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/03/05/change-healthcare-hack-prescriptions-affect/)
By Marlene Cimons, McKenzie Beard and Teddy Amenabar
March 5, 2024 at 11:26 a.m. EST


A cyberattack on a health-care company has created problems for many patients trying to fill drug prescriptions. For some consumers, the hack has forced them to pay cash for expensive drugs, denied their use of pharmaceutical discount coupons or left them unable to get their refills at all.

The reason behind the chaos is a ransomware attack on a little-known company called Change Healthcare, which is believed to process 50 percent of the medical claims in the United States. But most people won’t know if the hack has affected their medical data until they try to fill a prescription or visit a doctor.
We spoke to experts about the hack and whom it has hurt. Here’s what they had to say.

The hack is affecting millions of patients, either directly or indirectly through their prescriptions, physicians and hospitals. But most patients whose health-care claims are processed by Change Healthcare aren’t aware of it, and won’t discover they have been affected by the hack until something goes wrong. The company is owned by UnitedHealth insurance, but it manages claims from many insurance providers. Change Healthcare says it manages 15 billion claims totaling more than $1.5 trillion a year.

More at link:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2024/03/05/change-healthcare-hack-prescriptions-affect/

This article goes on to say how some cancer treatments are being cut, and some psychiatric meds are unavailable, and tests and needed procedures, scans and treatments are on pause. Some people are simply unable to obtain their prescriptions.

[Rizotto]

There had been a trend that to save one's $$$ from CBDC control, transferring $$$ into crypto or bitcoin was the solution. But with the internet becoming increasingly subject to hacking, what impact does this have on bitcoin?

https://www.reuters.com/technology/bitcoin-surges-past-68000-sight-record-high-2024-03-05/
Bitcoin soars to record high, then tumbles

I don't have any bitcoin or cryptocurrency anywhere, and I admit that I don't know a thing about bitcoin. I've heard from too many people who are under the belief that bitcoin is the solution from frozen bank account under government control. That doesn't make sense to me. I would personally advise people to buy material assets instead while we still can, i.e. land or equipment.

Please help me understand the bitcoin thing.

[ExomatrixTV]

Related upcoming crisis?:


The Pending March 11 2024 Banking Hell (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?122762-The-pending-March-11-2024-banking-hell)

[ExomatrixTV]

Please help me understand the bitcoin thing.

The Bitcoin Creation Mystery - Created By AI? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?122380-The-Bitcoin-Creation-Mystery-Created-By-AI&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin, the war on cash, Clif High, and the NSA's long range plans (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?99133-Bitcoin-the-war-on-cash-Clif-High-and-the-NSA-s-long-range-plans&highlight=bitcoin)
Thoughts on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and related matters. (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?101806-Thoughts-on-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrencies-and-related-matters.&highlight=bitcoin)
SEC approves a Bitcoin futures ETF (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?116563-SEC-approves-a-Bitcoin-futures-ETF&highlight=bitcoin)
Future U.S. IRS Tax regulations on Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, etc (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?116499-Future-U.S.-IRS-Tax-regulations-on-Cryptocurrencies-Bitcoin-etc&highlight=bitcoin)
Colonial Pipeline Ransom From Bitcoin Wallet Recovered (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?115324-Colonial-Pipeline-Ransom-From-Bitcoin-Wallet-Recovered&highlight=bitcoin)
Edward Snowden Leaks New Documents Showing That The NSA Worked “Urgently” To Target Bitcoin Users (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?102201-Edward-Snowden-Leaks-New-Documents-Showing-That-The-NSA-Worked---Urgently---To-Target-Bitcoin-Users&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin: Researchers find child pornography in blockchain (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?102176-Bitcoin-Researchers-find-child-pornography-in-blockchain&highlight=bitcoin)
Catherine Austin Fitts - Bitcoin Op, Digital Slavery & Space Economy... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100946-Catherine-Austin-Fitts-Bitcoin-Op-Digital-Slavery-Space-Economy...&highlight=bitcoin)
Canadian couple pours life savings into backyard bitcoin mine (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100872-Canadian-couple-pours-life-savings-into-backyard-bitcoin-mine&highlight=bitcoin)
Kerry Cassidy, Bix Weir - Grand Canyon, US Economic Strategy, Coming Crash, Bitcoin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100445-Kerry-Cassidy-Bix-Weir-Grand-Canyon-US-Economic-Strategy-Coming-Crash-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Artificial Intelligence Created Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Algorithm for upcoming (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100519-Artificial-Intelligence-Created-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrency-Algorithm-for-upcoming-Singularity-next-week&highlight=bitcoin)
John McAfee accidentally just revealed why Bitcoin is a total fraud: Behold the logic of “artificial work” (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?99911-John-McAfee-accidentally-just-revealed-why-Bitcoin-is-a-total-fraud-Behold-the-logic-of---artificial-work--&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin returns are very impressive (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?97852-Bitcoin-returns-are-very-impressive&highlight=bitcoin)
Developing - Bitcoin Bubble (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?64706-Developing-Bitcoin-Bubble&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin ETF will lead to price suppression (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?97576-Bitcoin-ETF-will-lead-to-price-suppression&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex hacked (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?92338-Bitcoin-exchange-Bitfinex-hacked&highlight=bitcoin)
Do you hold Bitcoin? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?91983-Do-you-hold-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Corbettreport/ Satori Coin: New physical Bitcoin introduced in Japan (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?89351-Corbettreport-Satori-Coin-New-physical-bitcoin-introduced-in-Japan&highlight=bitcoin)
Craig Steven Wright the real creator of Bitcoin? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?88064-Craig-Steven-Wright-the-real-creator-of-bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin soars on Chinese takeout (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?86547-Bitcoin-soars-on-Chinese-takeout&highlight=bitcoin)
The continuing rise of Bitcoin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?83981-The-continuing-rise-of-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Another good reason for adopting bitcoin... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?80295-Another-good-reason-for-adopting-bitcoin...&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin - who does it benefit? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?80009-Bitcoin-who-does-it-benefit&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin, aliens and Putin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?77457-Bitcoin-aliens-and-Putin&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin creator revealed! (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69166-Bitcoin-creator-revealed-&highlight=bitcoin)
Silk Road 2.0 'Hack' Blamed On Bitcoin Bug, All Funds Stolen (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?68447-Silk-Road-2.0-Hack-Blamed-On-Bitcoin-Bug-All-Funds-Stolen&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin Was Created By DARPA... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?66669-Bitcoin-Was-Created-By-DARPA...&highlight=bitcoin)
JP Morgan about to unleash its own version of bitcoin....? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?66342-JP-Morgan-about-to-unleash-its-own-version-of-bitcoin....&highlight=bitcoin)
Is Bitcoin and other crypto currency the start of a one world currency? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65971-Is-Bitcoin-and-other-crypto-currency-the-start-of-a-one-world-currency&highlight=bitcoin)
Digital Currency, Bitcoin And The Dark Web ~ Listen Here (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65669-Digital-Currency-Bitcoin-And-The-Dark-Web-Listen-Here&highlight=bitcoin)
What's Your View on Bitcoin? - Questions For Corbett (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65256-What-s-Your-View-on-Bitcoin-Questions-For-Corbett-011&highlight=bitcoin)
DHS targeting Bitcoin Dwolla mobile payment service (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?59258-DHS-targeting-Bitcoin-Dwolla-mobile-payment-service&highlight=bitcoin)
Will Bitcoin Kill the Federal Reserve (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?57516-Will-Bitcoin-Kill-the-Federal-Reserve&highlight=bitcoin)
The Entire Economy Is a Ponzi Scheme / The Bitcoin bubble.... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?58147-The-Entire-Economy-Is-a-Ponzi-Scheme-The-Bitcoin-bubble....&highlight=bitcoin)
Keiser Report: Bitcoin vs Banksters (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?57693-Keiser-Report-Bitcoin-vs-Banksters&highlight=bitcoin)

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

[Rizotto]

Please help me understand the bitcoin thing.

The Bitcoin Creation Mystery - Created By AI? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?122380-The-Bitcoin-Creation-Mystery-Created-By-AI&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin, the war on cash, Clif High, and the NSA's long range plans (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?99133-Bitcoin-the-war-on-cash-Clif-High-and-the-NSA-s-long-range-plans&highlight=bitcoin)
Thoughts on Bitcoin, Cryptocurrencies and related matters. (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?101806-Thoughts-on-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrencies-and-related-matters.&highlight=bitcoin)
SEC approves a Bitcoin futures ETF (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?116563-SEC-approves-a-Bitcoin-futures-ETF&highlight=bitcoin)
Future U.S. IRS Tax regulations on Cryptocurrencies, Bitcoin, etc (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?116499-Future-U.S.-IRS-Tax-regulations-on-Cryptocurrencies-Bitcoin-etc&highlight=bitcoin)
Colonial Pipeline Ransom From Bitcoin Wallet Recovered (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?115324-Colonial-Pipeline-Ransom-From-Bitcoin-Wallet-Recovered&highlight=bitcoin)
Edward Snowden Leaks New Documents Showing That The NSA Worked “Urgently” To Target Bitcoin Users (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?102201-Edward-Snowden-Leaks-New-Documents-Showing-That-The-NSA-Worked---Urgently---To-Target-Bitcoin-Users&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin: Researchers find child pornography in blockchain (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?102176-Bitcoin-Researchers-find-child-pornography-in-blockchain&highlight=bitcoin)
Catherine Austin Fitts - Bitcoin Op, Digital Slavery & Space Economy... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100946-Catherine-Austin-Fitts-Bitcoin-Op-Digital-Slavery-Space-Economy...&highlight=bitcoin)
Canadian couple pours life savings into backyard bitcoin mine (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100872-Canadian-couple-pours-life-savings-into-backyard-bitcoin-mine&highlight=bitcoin)
Kerry Cassidy, Bix Weir - Grand Canyon, US Economic Strategy, Coming Crash, Bitcoin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100445-Kerry-Cassidy-Bix-Weir-Grand-Canyon-US-Economic-Strategy-Coming-Crash-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Artificial Intelligence Created Bitcoin Cryptocurrency Algorithm for upcoming (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?100519-Artificial-Intelligence-Created-Bitcoin-Cryptocurrency-Algorithm-for-upcoming-Singularity-next-week&highlight=bitcoin)
John McAfee accidentally just revealed why Bitcoin is a total fraud: Behold the logic of “artificial work” (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?99911-John-McAfee-accidentally-just-revealed-why-Bitcoin-is-a-total-fraud-Behold-the-logic-of---artificial-work--&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin returns are very impressive (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?97852-Bitcoin-returns-are-very-impressive&highlight=bitcoin)
Developing - Bitcoin Bubble (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?64706-Developing-Bitcoin-Bubble&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin ETF will lead to price suppression (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?97576-Bitcoin-ETF-will-lead-to-price-suppression&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin exchange Bitfinex hacked (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?92338-Bitcoin-exchange-Bitfinex-hacked&highlight=bitcoin)
Do you hold Bitcoin? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?91983-Do-you-hold-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Corbettreport/ Satori Coin: New physical Bitcoin introduced in Japan (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?89351-Corbettreport-Satori-Coin-New-physical-bitcoin-introduced-in-Japan&highlight=bitcoin)
Craig Steven Wright the real creator of Bitcoin? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?88064-Craig-Steven-Wright-the-real-creator-of-bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin soars on Chinese takeout (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?86547-Bitcoin-soars-on-Chinese-takeout&highlight=bitcoin)
The continuing rise of Bitcoin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?83981-The-continuing-rise-of-Bitcoin&highlight=bitcoin)
Another good reason for adopting bitcoin... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?80295-Another-good-reason-for-adopting-bitcoin...&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin - who does it benefit? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?80009-Bitcoin-who-does-it-benefit&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin, aliens and Putin (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?77457-Bitcoin-aliens-and-Putin&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin creator revealed! (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69166-Bitcoin-creator-revealed-&highlight=bitcoin)
Silk Road 2.0 'Hack' Blamed On Bitcoin Bug, All Funds Stolen (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?68447-Silk-Road-2.0-Hack-Blamed-On-Bitcoin-Bug-All-Funds-Stolen&highlight=bitcoin)
Bitcoin Was Created By DARPA... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?66669-Bitcoin-Was-Created-By-DARPA...&highlight=bitcoin)
JP Morgan about to unleash its own version of bitcoin....? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?66342-JP-Morgan-about-to-unleash-its-own-version-of-bitcoin....&highlight=bitcoin)
Is Bitcoin and other crypto currency the start of a one world currency? (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65971-Is-Bitcoin-and-other-crypto-currency-the-start-of-a-one-world-currency&highlight=bitcoin)
Digital Currency, Bitcoin And The Dark Web ~ Listen Here (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65669-Digital-Currency-Bitcoin-And-The-Dark-Web-Listen-Here&highlight=bitcoin)
What's Your View on Bitcoin? - Questions For Corbett (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?65256-What-s-Your-View-on-Bitcoin-Questions-For-Corbett-011&highlight=bitcoin)
DHS targeting Bitcoin Dwolla mobile payment service (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?59258-DHS-targeting-Bitcoin-Dwolla-mobile-payment-service&highlight=bitcoin)
Will Bitcoin Kill the Federal Reserve (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?57516-Will-Bitcoin-Kill-the-Federal-Reserve&highlight=bitcoin)
The Entire Economy Is a Ponzi Scheme / The Bitcoin bubble.... (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?58147-The-Entire-Economy-Is-a-Ponzi-Scheme-The-Bitcoin-bubble....&highlight=bitcoin)
Keiser Report: Bitcoin vs Banksters (https://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?57693-Keiser-Report-Bitcoin-vs-Banksters&highlight=bitcoin)

cheers,
John 🦜🦋🌳

Thanks Exomatrix! The list is so long, complex and full of contradictions that it solves my problem right away. It's not just that I'm too lazy to get informed on bitcoin. Now I realize that nobody really knows what's going on.

[norman]

A slightly off-topic thought popped up and dominated my mind as I scanned this thread.

I have a question. How much incriminating evidence of the massive crime of the 'vaccines' is sitting on servers in the health care and health insurance industry ?

[Harmony]

What comes to mind also is attention is being brought to these kind of incidences, also in Austrlia off and on. It could be to make the general population think a sensible solution would be to introduce the personal identity code that links all services under one umbrella.

[Rizotto]

What comes to mind also is attention is being brought to these kind of incidences, also in Austrlia off and on. It could be to make the general population think a sensible solution would be to introduce the personal identity code that links all services under one umbrella.

I agree Harmony, unfortunately, that's most likely what it is about.

Over the past few years I've asked IT specialists what could we do in the case that anonymous access to internet is rendered impossible by new 'government' rules. They answer that won't happen, there will always be ways to access the internet. Then they launch into explanations that are too complicated for my little head. They also recommend bitcoin to offset CBDC control, but I never get a clear answer as to what happens to bitcoin when the grid is down or the internet is down, real possibilities in these days of world wars and EMP attacks or 'star war' laser attacks on communications satellites.

I also recall that during the 2022 Freedom Convoy, when Turdeau froze protesters' bank accounts, Turdeau also claimed that they (somehow) blocked cryptocurrencies 'wallets'. I don't even know what that is. But I didn't hear any expert contradict Turdeau on this point, and would welcome any clarification on that matter by folks here with experience in these things.

It's a fact now that the 'government' is just too well aware that by snatching our money away from us, they're essentially paralysing our lives.

So, we need a clear plan to circumvent 'new rules' on internet access, that even a dummy like me can understand. Even a statement like 'sorry, but in case of an EMP attack, there's nothing we can do' is better than unrealistic theories.

[Sue (Ayt)]

As to the healthcare hack (above) - it is fairly well acknowledged that the US healthcare system as it exists now is unsustainable.
A "cyberattack" might be a good plan to dismantle the system while diverting the blame to some chosen outside enemy.
(Kind of like 911, and maybe covid, neither of which showed much concern as to "collateral damage".)

It could also be used as an excuse for the ponzi-scheme financial system that we have going now, or for any number of other system take-downs.

[palehorse]

..
I also recall that during the 2022 Freedom Convoy, when Turdeau froze protesters' bank accounts, Turdeau also claimed that they (somehow) blocked cryptocurrencies 'wallets'. I don't even know what that is. But I didn't hear any expert contradict Turdeau on this point, and would welcome any clarification on that matter by folks here with experience in these things.

It's a fact now that the 'government' is just too well aware that by snatching our money away from us, they're essentially paralysing our lives.
..



basically there is 2-ways to hold crypto, one is using your own wallet, installed in your computer where ONLY YOU holds the private key and have access to transact it. The second way is using companies to hold your crypto (similar to what banks do), in that case you hold NOTHING, they do, and they can freeze funds as they wish, because these exchanges companies are built by a bunch of whores and they will do anything they were told.

So if you have 1 million dollar in cash or gold and you hide it anywhere, it is your possession and the government has no access to it.
But if you have the same amount in a bank and the government decide this money should be frozen for whatever reason, so they do.

The system is rigged in all levels, you own what you hold and sometimes not even that!

The solution is to use truly decentralized systems with personal wallets installed in your computer where only you has the private key or cash in hand. Banks or crypto exchanges are not your friend, they are corrupted institutions and work against you, so why keep resources with them?

[Sue (Ayt)]

French state services hit by cyberattacks of 'unprecedented intensity'

"Cyberattacks of "unprecedented intensity" have targeted several French government institutions just months before the Paris Olympics but have been contained, the prime minister's office said Monday.

The latest cyberattack to hit France follows a warning from Attal's defence adviser just last week that the Olympics games in July and European Parliament elections in June could be "significant targets".

Prime Minister Gabriel Attal's office said several state bodies were targeted but did not provide details.

"Many ministerial services were targeted" from Sunday "using familiar technical means but of unprecedented intensity," Attal's office said.

A security source told AFP that the attacks "are not currently attributable to Russia," an obvious suspect for many given Paris' support for Kyiv since the invasion of Ukraine.

The PM's staff added that a "crisis cell has been activated to deploy countermeasures", meaning "the impact of these attacks has been reduced for most services and access to state websites restored."

Specialist services including information security agency ANSSI were "implementing filtering measures until the attacks are over".

Several hacker groups claimed responsibility for the attacks on Telegram, a messaging app, including one calling itself Anonymous Sudan which said it had launched a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack on French government network infrastructure.

"We have conducted a massive cyberattack... the damage will be widespread," said the group, which posts with an avatar of a hooded Guy Fawkes mask in front of a desert scene with pyramids.

Guy Fawkes is famous for his 1605 plot to blow up Britain's parliament, and his image has become a widespread symbol for revolutionary protest.

"A lot of different digital government sectors have been affected, including very important websites, with their respective subdomains," it said.

Anonymous Sudan is a known outfit that has carried out attacks in the past year against websites in countries including Sweden, Denmark and Israel.

Purportedly based in Sudan, it says it targets what it deems to be anti-Muslim activity with some signs that it is sympathetic to Russia.

A DDoS attack involves using a computer or network of computers to make a massive number of requests of a target system, overwhelming its ability to respond to legitimate users.

According to US cybersecurity firm Cloudflare, Anonymous Sudan is one of many groups employing DDoS attacks and organisations can protect themselves against its methods.

The latest cyberattack also follows a call from Defence Minister Sebastien Lecornu last month to step up protection against "sabotage and cyberattack" by Russia, in an internal note seen by AFP that said his ministry was top of Moscow's target list."
https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20240311-french-state-services-hit-intense-cyberattacks-hacking-france

[Sue (Ayt)]

Millions of customers' data found on dark web in latest AT&T data breach

AT&T announced on Saturday it is investigating a data breach involving the personal information of more than 70 million current and former customers leaked on the dark web.

According to information about the breach on the company's website, 7.6 million current account holders and 65.4 million former account holders have been impacted. An AT&T press release said the breach occurred about two weeks ago, and that the incident has not yet had a "material impact" on its operations.

AT&T said the information included in the compromised data set varies from person to person. It could include social security numbers, full names, email and mailing addresses, phone numbers, and dates of birth, as well as AT&T account numbers and passcodes.
more at link:
https://www.npr.org/2024/03/30/1241863710/att-data-breach-dark-web

[Sue (Ayt)]

Ransomware attack hits Florida blood donation center that services more than 350 hospitals

A cyberattack on the nonprofit blood donation center OneBlood is stifling operations at an organization that normally services more than 350 hospitals across four states, the organization announced on Wednesday.

"With donation centers scattered across the southeastern United States, OneBlood's supplies usually support 355 hospitals in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas, according to the organization. To help make up for the current loss, OneBlood said it's partnering with blood centers across the country and a national disaster task force that will send additional blood, platelets and other blood products. They are calling for people of all blood types to donate, but O Positive and O Negative blood types as well as platelets are particularly crucial. Donors can find the nearest OneBlood center here."

"U.S. authorities and security researchers alike have warned that ransomware attacks like these are becoming more common, and they often impact health and medical institutions like hospitals and pharmacies. A cyberattack in the U.K. recently depleted stocks of O-type blood."
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ransomware-attack-blood-donation-center-oneblood-florida/

[norman]

There was this 2 days ago, too


300 Indian banks hit after ransomware attack cripples payment systems: Report


https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/indian-banks-ransomware-attacks-payment-systems-disrupted-upi-atm-service-provider-2574793-2024-08-01

[Matthew]

Rogue development extension steals half a million dollars from experienced crypto-developer's crypto wallet.

This post is a nerdy one.

This experienced developer was very cautious, taking special steps to install his development environment onto a brand new operating system installation.

The gotcha point was that he installed a development environment "extension", called 'Solidity', which is typical and normal for developers to do because these 'extensions' add features to the development environment that we use to make software with. The extensions can really help, for example: I often add a spell-checker extension to my development environment because I can't spell. Once installed it adds red wavy lines to words that are not recognised in the dictionary. But extensions now, powered by A.I., are significantly more powerful, co-writing the whole codebase with you. That's just to explain what these development extensions do, the nature of the theft was not related to A.I.

This guy got the extension from the official location where we get these things, and the extension that betrayed him looked OK, had a significant number of previous downloads (which instills trust, safety in numbers), and looked legit, but it was a fake version.

The display of the fake one mimicked the presentation of the real one exactly with one sneaky difference: instead of a lowercase 'l' it used an uppercase 'i', e.g.: Solidity vs SoIidity. It's obvious with serif fonts, and as I type this I'm suddenly a fan of serif fonts for security. Similar tricks are used to spoof people into clicking a rogue URL. For example, we could be spoofed if someone registered 'https://projectavaIon.net/forum4/....' (the l of avalon is replaced with a capital I). The browser navigation bar uses sans-serif fonts so it's neigh invisible to the eye.

These development extensions, and third party libraries, are often glossed over from a security point of view, at least that is my experience. At work, as a developer, nobody liked me calling out the risk of extensions and third party libraries. Frankly developers can install them without anybody knowing, and don't want the hassle of being vetted. It takes military grade production due-diligence to stop this and in my humble experience 9 times out of 10 companies are not aware of this blind-spot. For example I see people download Notepad++ extensions like they're grabbing bargains from Target on Black Friday. That said I wouldn't be without json and html prettify.

Despite my cynicism I totally would have fallen for this.

CqKZhYsjw6M

[Wilbur2]

Matthew,

If he downloaded the extension from a trusted site, then how could this happen? The site itself had been corrupted? Or the site was one where anybody can upload extensions for others to use, and he simply got conned by downloading an extension from a communal site that purported to be a different extension, with the l replaced by I?

[Matthew]

Matthew,

If he downloaded the extension from a trusted site, then how could this happen? The site itself had been corrupted? Or the site was one where anybody can upload extensions for others to use, and he simply got conned by downloading an extension from a communal site that purported to be a different extension, with the l replaced by I?

Yes, how did it get so many downloads previously? I can only guess but if they got enough downloads and stayed quiet then could snare someone lucrative sooner or later. I have no idea what the real Solidity thought when it spotted it, which I guess they probably did before the attack. I guess something like: there was an appeal process but it was very slow and the fake one gained traction in the mean time, and it stayed benign for a long time. I totally made that up, I have no idea.

Extensions, plugins, and library package management runs like the wild-west, especially on popular growing development environments; due-diligence and safety becomes draconian and dissuades developers from using it which is critical to the success of the development environment. The other end of this thinking is: favouring developers to create and publish these extensions fast and easily, and in the haste and glitz of this other-worldly power of extensions - it's blinding, and risk goes out the window to grasp the power. It's like Lord of the Rings all over again.

[onawah]

Google misled users about their privacy and now owes them $425m, says court
September 9, 2025 by
Danny Bradbury
https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2025/09/google-misled-users-about-their-privacy-and-now-owes-them-425m-says-court

"A court has ordered Google to pay $425m in a class action lawsuit after it was found to have misled users about their online privacy.

In July 2020, Google user Anibal Rodriguez filed a lawsuit against the search giant, arguing that it misled users with its “Web & App Activity” setting. The setting was supposed to stop Google collecting data about users’ activities online and in apps.

In reality, Google continued to collect data about how people were using their apps, even after they had switched off data collection in the Web & App Activity setting. Although it said that it was anonymizing that data.

The company collected this information via Firebase, a database that it uses to monitor activities across 1.5 million apps for analytics purposes which operates separately to the Web & App Activity setting. It’s reportedly in 97% of the top thousand Android apps, and 54% of leading iOS apps. Google harvested data from apps including Uber, Venmo, Shazam, the New York Times, Duolingo, and Instagram.

This arrangement created a dual data collection system. It misled 98 million Google users into thinking that their actions were completely private, argued the case, which became a class action suit.

Google’s lawyers protested that users were properly informed about how the company collects information and what it does with it. They pointed out that when confirming their choice, Google displays an “Are You Sure?” prompt that lets them check on what information Google collects, according to Bloomberg Law.

This clearly didn’t resonate with jurors, one of whom said after the verdict that Google needed to be clearer in how it communicated its data handling to its users. They’re generally “skimmers, not readers” he said.

Plaintiffs originally asked for $31bn in damages, but the amount awarded is far less, equating to around $4 per user.

Nevertheless, Google plans to appeal. “This decision misunderstands how our products work,” its spokesperson Jose Castaneda reportedly said. “Our privacy tools give people control over their data, and when they turn off personalization, we honor that choice.”

A history of questionable tactics
This isn’t the first time that Google has been found guilty of misleading users. In February 2023, it agreed to pay $392m in a settlement with 40 states for storing users’ locations when it told them it wouldn’t. It coughed up another $40m in a separate arrangement with Washington state later that year and also settled with Arizona for $85m.

In December 2023, the search giant also settled in a class action over alleged misleading language in its incognito mode service, which promised not to collect data about browsing activity but actually did. It deleted records costing it at least $5bn to settle that claim, but didn’t pay damages to users. However, in May this year it settled with Texas to pay $1.38bn to resolve the state’s own claims in the location and incognito mode affairs.

One interesting snippet is that Google has a habit of internally playing down its privacy claims because it knows that explaining exactly what it keeps might alarm users. In a ruling that denied a motion to dismiss the Web & App Activites-related case in January, district judge Richard Seeborg said:

“Internal Google communications also indicate that Google knew it was being ‘intentionally vague’ about the technical distinction between data collected within a Google account and that which is collected outside of it because the truth ‘could sound alarming to users.'”

Google executives had also privately discussed the need to soften up the privacy language in the company’s services to avoid alarming users of incognito mode. The message here to Joe and Jane Public is even clearer now than it was before; take privacy claims from big tech vendors with the skepticism they deserve, and adopt the ‘mom rule’ when dealing with them: never let them see anything you wouldn’t want them to know."