Bitcoin is a an open-source, peer-to-peer digital cash system launched in 2009. The Bitcoin "currency" has no physical manifestation - there are no banknotes, metal coins, or promissory notes signed with a flourish. You "mine" Bitcoins synthetically by solving a cryptographic problem....
Sometimes a hack has unexpected outcomes. Today, a hacker who claims to have obtained Mitt Romney’s tax returns is demanding a ransom of $1 million in Bitcoins. The hacker probably didn’t expect to improve the market for Bitcoins overall, but that’s exactly what happened, as the value...
We will find, however, that the case against the blackmailer cannot stand serious analysis; that it is based upon a tissue of unexamined shibboleths and deep philosophical misunderstandings. What, exactly, is blackmail? Blackmail is the offer of trade. It is the offer to trade somethi...
A quick burst of 10 links for you to chew over, as picked by the Technology team Apple acquires stack of LTE patents >> Chosun Kibo (Korea) Samsung Electronics had 819 (12.7%) to rank first, followed by the US patent company InterDigital with 780 patents (12.1%). China's Huawei ranked...
It has happened again one Americas most popular bitcoin exchange Bitfloor ( bitfloor.com ) has been compromised and close to 250k USD or 25k bitcoins has been stolen from the sites servers in an attack which is turning out to be very embarrassing for the owner. The attack came to ligh...
The Secret Service is up in arms over claims being made by a group that says they have obtained White House hopeful Mitt Romney’s tax records. In a message posted online, the group says they will leak the files if not paid $1,000,000 in Bitcoins. An unidentified group says that they m...
Bitcoins are back in the news for the wrong reasons, as it emerges that trading site Bitfloor has had over £160,000 stolen by hackers. Bitfloor's founder, Roman Shtylman, took to the site's forum to let users know what had happened -- and to ask for "help" to avoid creating panic with...
Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor reportedly suffered a virtual heist of 24,000 BTCs, worth a cool quarter-million U.S. dollars. The incident not only raises questions about the long-term viability of the digital currency but also highlights how seemingly minor lapses in IT security judgment ...
Last night the news broke that hackers managed to physically break into the offices of a Pricewaterhouse Cooper branch in Tennessee and download the unreleased tax records of Republican Presidential Candidate Mitts Romney. These hackers set up shop in an empty office, connected to the...
It may be an elaborate hoax, but an apparent attempt to blackmail Mitt Romney shows the dark side of a disruptive financial technology and raises serious legal questions. In an anonymous letter addressed to PricewaterhouseCoopers, an individual or group of individuals claims to have o...
“Last night,” announced Bitfloor founder Roman Shtylman on Tuesday, “a few of our servers were compromised. As a result, the attacker gained accesses to an unencrypted backup of the wallet keys...” The effect of this compromise was the loss of 24,000 bitcoins, estimated to be worth ar...
What is a bitcoin and why does it matter to Mitt Romney? (Adam Berry/AFP/Getty Images) What do you think? Bitcoins are having their economic moment in the sun following an attempted shakedown of Mitt Romney. On Wednesday night, an anonymous group of hackers announced they had obtained...
1. Oracle forced to pay Google $ 1 million in legal fees/Groklaw Charles says Groklaw did not look at any commentary in the orders. Yet I find that puzzling in view of the following paragraph in the article: "So, after thinking about this all day, here's what I think it means. I think...
Bitcoin exchange Bitfloor reportedly suffered a virtual heist of 24,000 BTCs, worth a cool quarter-million U.S. dollars. The incident not only raises questions about the long-term viability of the digital currency but also highlights how seemingly minor lapses in IT security judgment ...
