Day: August 31, 2017

The price of bitcoin has risen above $4,800 for the first time, market data reveals.

A new web portal for the troubled bitcoin exchange BTC-e has been launched, allowing users to access and check their balances.

Controversial scaling proposal, Segwit2x has lost Chinese mining pool, F2Pool’s support over its timeline for a 2MB hard fork.

Whenever the IRS issues a statement regarding technology or cryptocurrency, there is plenty of reason to be concerned. In some cases, however, the institution legitimately aims to protect consumers from financial harm. Its latest communication appears to concern the topic of ransomware distributed via phishing emails. Interestingly enough, these emails are fake. 

IRS Phishing Emails Distribute Ransomware

Cybercriminals know no boundaries when it comes to nefarious activity. Although the distribution of malware and ransomware via email is nothing new by any means, they do not shy away from impersonating legitimate agencies either. Sending out fake emails seemingly coming from the Internal Revenue Service to distribute ransomware is bound to get the attention of the real IRS sooner or later. It turns out the criminals have succeeded, although it is nearly impossible to thwart their efforts right away.

The fake IRS email looks pretty legitimate. It boasts an official logo, and the message included leaves nothing to the imagination. Victims are told they must download a questionnaire, fill it in with personal information, and email it to the IRS. The email in question also bears the logo of the FBI, although it is unclear why that institution would be involved. Then again, the email states that the goal is to maximize tax revenue, and a mention of the FBI might make some people believe this questionnaire to be legitimate.

That is not the case, though. As soon as a recipient downloads the attachment, they will effectively allow their computer to be infected with ransomware. For the time being, researchers have no clue which ransomware they are dealing with, as it does not bear any resemblance with any known strains. It does successfully encrypt files on the computer in question, although there is no mention of it altering master boot records or anything like that. Nor is it clear how much money its developers ask for when the customer wishes to decrypt his or her files.

Schemes like these are nothing new either, though. Criminals have used IRS-spoofed email messages in the past for other nefarious purposes, such as the infamous tax return scam. It is up to individual consumers to identify these threats and take action accordingly. The IRS would never contact users with a questionnaire using a file that must be downloaded and mailed to them in physical form. The whole setup makes no sense whatsoever, despite the inclusion of logos belonging to the IRS and FBI.

Indeed, anyone in the U.S. with a potential tax issue would not be contacted by email or phone either. Nor would that communication take place in a threatening tone. Luckily, the IRS issued a few warnings weeks ago to prevent U.S. citizens from falling victim to any form of scam, hack, or malware distribution attempt. It is good to see officials explain this situation so it is clear for everyone to understand. This governmental institution is widely respected, even though not everyone agrees with its decisions every time.

The bigger question is who is behind this new ransomware distribution campaign. Researchers would also love to know which type of malware is being distributed exactly. Knowing that this is a serious threat which no one has encountered before will not put people’s minds at ease by any means. There is also no free decryption tool available for this ransomware, as researchers literally know nothing about it at this stage. Once they can analyze a few samples, things will become a lot clearer.

The latest analytical overview.

It is no secret most robots will be far better at making products and goods than their human counterparts ever will be. According to Grabit, the company’s line of robots is capable of working at 20 times the pace of an average human. These robots are designed to build pairs of Nike shoes. Flooding the market with the finished product may help to push the shoes’ average price down by quite a bit. It is one of those developments people will both love and hate at the same time.

Grabit Robots are Quite the Busy Bees

Very few people consider how much work goes into the process of putting a pair of shoes together. The amount of labor required for this specific purpose should not be overlooked. The upper part of the shoe which sits on top of your foot is actually the most laborious task of all to complete. It is not comprised of one single piece of material. Humans often have to put together a few dozen individual pieces in order to create this part of the shoe. Up until now, no robot had been able to produce adequate results when putting this part together.

Grabit claims that has now changed. The company has built a robot which is capable of fully assembling pairs of Nike shoes quickly. Considering how Nike, Inc. invested millions in this company, it is about time those efforts pay off. It is worth noting how the robots rely on static electricity – known as electroadhesion – to help manipulate objects in unique ways. This allows the robots to assemble every single part of a shoe with relative ease. It does so at 20 times the pace of a human worker, which is both amazing and terrifying.

So far, a few Nike facilities have been equipped with Grabit robots to fully test their performance over time. It is expected around 12 of these machines will be operating across both Mexico and China before December 31st of this year. This would certainly allow Nike to shake up its manufacturing process quite a bit and bring it closer to its major consumer market. If this trial were successful, it could mean positive things for the industry’s negative association with child labor as well.

Automation is coming to the manufacturing sector. So far, no major companies have deployed such technology on any sizeable scale, though. Robotic arms have been the main area of focus for the time being, although other technologies are being considered as well. Entrusting robots with more meticulous work is a big gamble by Nike, but so far, the company’s efforts are paying off. Only time will tell whether or not their gut feeling was the right one, though.

Grabit’s robots do not mimic human behavior. They use flat pads of electrodes which create an electrical field adhering to virtually any surface one can think of. This is very different from most “robotic hand”-oriented projects in the industry right now. It is more like how one would expect robots to behave, rather than an imitation of human workforce. It does not appear the company faces any major competition right now, which makes them rather unique for the time being.

Moreover, Grabit’s robots can work together with human operators, which is another big selling point. The software decides how the various pieces should be stacked, and lights up positions for the human partner to set things down. The system currently requires one human employee to monitor one machine per shift, which should improve overall productivity by up to 2,000%. This is a very interesting development that shows that not all robots are designed to take human jobs.

Blockchain-born companies understand that they must align with all values of this technology, and strive to be: democratic, open-source, honest and fair.