Socialist governments like to keep control of the entire economy in their hands by controlling the means of production, but Bernie Sanders doesn’t simply call himself a socialist.
CoinTelegraph.Com News
Ransomware remains one of the most worrying threats to IT infrastructure in this day and age. Hackers are not worried about who they target with this malware, as long as there is a monetary gain on the horizon. The Los Angeles County health department is one of the latest targets in a major ransomware attack. This news comes on the heels of the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center facing a similar threat, forcing them to pay US$ 17,000 in Bitcoin to have access restored.
Also read: Cannabis Executive Doesn’t Understand Bitcoin
While this ransomware attack against the Los Angeles County Health Department is not on a scale of the same level as the Presbyterian Medical Center, the threat is still a big cause for concern. Ransomware encrypts files stored on computers and servers, preventing users from accessing the data they need at that time. The only way to bypass this encryption is by paying a fee in Bitcoin.
The initial discovery of this ransomware attack happened on Wednesday, as remnants of this malware were discovered on no less than five different computers. However, no reports have been made about any ransomware preventing staff from completing day-to-day operations, and no money has changed hands by the look of things.
Los Angeles County Health Department officials reported this incident to local law enforcement, as well as the county’s chief information office. No further details were provided to the media at the time of publication, other than reinforcing the statement no Bitcoin ransom had been paid, nor will they ever do so if the problem arises.
One of the main questions is whether or not other Los Angeles County departments were targeted with ransomware over the past few weeks. County spokesman David Sommers did not respond to the question when LA Times asked him about it. However, he did disclose how IT professionals are working hard to prevent any cyber attack from taking place.
The healthcare industry seems to be a new favorite target for hackers looking to spread their malware.Keeping in mind how patient records and files will need to be available to access at any given time, removing a ransomware infection becomes too costly and time-consuming. This is part of the reason the Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center paid the US$ 17,000 fee, as they could not risk facing more delays without a guaranteed solution to the problem.
While some people might feel ransomware is becoming the next buzzword in the world of cyber attacks, there is a positive side to this number of attacks as well. The more common ransomware becomes, the easier it is for security experts to stay one step ahead of the risk and prevent these attacks from successfully infecting computers.
It is always a good practice to have proper computer security precautions in place to avoid the risk of a ransomware infection. In the case of the Los Angeles County Health Department, staff has limited to no access to the county’s data, which may have prevented a lot of damage.
What are your thoughts on the number of ransomware attacks? Are hackers becoming more sophisticated, or have security experts caught up with this threat? Let us know in the comments below!
Source: LA Times
Images courtesy of Los Angeles County Health Department, Shutterstock
The post Bitcoin Ransomware Targets LA County Health Department appeared first on Bitcoinist.net.
There’s a recent article posted on the Cannabis Business Executive (CBE) called, “Is BitCoin an Answer to Marijuana’s Banking Needs? No Way, No How.” The opinion-editorial written by the author gave certain reasoning to why the digital currency was unfit for the marijuana industry. However, it seems the journalist also didn’t do his research like so many others before him.
Also read: New UK Cybercrime Report Makes No Mention of Bitcoin
Unfortunately, in legalized states such as Colorado, banks are unwilling to take cash coming in from cannabis businesses. Financial institutions are scared to accept this money as it comes into these companies in large amounts. This is highly evident in the Netflix documentary, “High Profits,” where hundreds of thousands of dollar bills are awkwardly managed by businesses on film.
Unaccountability is the CBE author’s problem with Bitcoin being used within the marijuana industry. He explains, “I do not endorse BitCoin for cannabis because I want every last dollar of this industry accounted for and taxed and regulated, without obfuscation.” This rationality is quite unrealistic considering the protocol is a digital ledger unlike the pen and paper accounting done on the show High Profits. Maybe he’s content with these businesses having to deal with cash in a very dangerous manner. The operation filmed on High Profits showed hundreds of thousands of dollars located in an unguarded home and young store clerks walking this cash in bags to the state department. There’s nothing accountable or responsible within an operation that works with money like this, and the fact it happens is absurd.
Netflix original High Profits shows large amounts of cash kept on site.
The writer in CBE’s article says he wants every dollar accounted for, but doesn’t realize the blockchain is a digital ledger that records everything. This data is cryptographically secure, time stamped and quite fast for merchants of any business. Users could purchase Bitcoin instead of using cash and buy the high-grade marijuana from these locations. Merchants wouldn’t even have to use paper money at all and could operate a 100% digital shop, fully accounted for with each transaction.
But no, the writer doesn’t realize the blockchain is a digital tool that can house massive amounts of data and wealth within its network. Despite this truth, he would seem to be ok with businesses filled to the brim with cash exposed to criminals rather than having an accountable record of safely stored bitcoins. As well as the digital currency’s convenient storage features these cannabis companies could also convert the Bitcoin into digital dollars within a bank account immediately. However, the author says he has a “very limited” understanding of the currency but seems to know enough to say “no way,” and writes a very vocal opinionated stance against the technology.
Another aspect of the opinion piece that clearly shows flaws is his trust in government backing. The writer believes that because officials have “declared it to be legal tender,” fiat money has derived this power with no consequence. It is evident that fiat currency is backed by legal force and accepted because governments say so. Yet, this government issued currency has had so many severe issues such as devaluation and horrible boom and busts from inflation. Furthermore, the Cannabis Business Executive journalist praises the bailouts of 2008 saying:
“In the 2008, the U.S. poured trillions of dollars into our economy to avoid a loss of confidence in the U.S. dollar. Quite frankly the process worked amazingly well, and our economy has rebounded from a heart attack that could have been fatal to our currency, and with it, our economy.”
The author concludes that the cannabis industry will deal “primarily” in cash and most likely not deal with Bitcoin. Because people are being fed inaccurate information like this editorial, they will likely stick with cash. Why doesn’t any of these entrepreneurs realize how dangerous it is to have these businesses hold so much money out in the open. The system could operate in the most transparent way possible and not have thousands of dollars to safeguard and account for manually.
Fiat currency is also devalued by the central banking system and fractional reserve practices. Someone who bolsters quantitive easing may not be the logical person to listen about emerging markets. With a currency such as Bitcoin it has a limited supply, and as time progresses, it’s scarcity should bring substantial value to the protocol rather than hyperinflation brought on by the Federal Reserve’s printing press.
Not only does the author bolster the bailouts of 2008, but also helps promote what he calls “invasive government oversight.” Even though he believes the acts are “invasive,” the author details he still helped develop “Seed-to-Sale tracking,” a process of using tech to monitor every movement of a legal marijuana plant’s life. There’s not much you can take seriously within the words of this opinion piece but information like his editorial confuses people. One thing is for sure many of these businesses surely could use a bank, and there is one open 24 hours a day seven days a week. A lot of these entrepreneurs are steadily searching for a bank to use and, unfortunately, don’t see the decentralized protocol right in front of them.
Cannabis industry executive’s should, at least, consult someone who can tell them about Bitcoin from a studied background. Or maybe do some significant research about the digital currency before writing a counter-argument against the technology. Obfuscation is all his article contains and its a shame that some of these entrepreneurs don’t understand how cohesive these two budding economies could be.
What do you think about the opinion that Bitcoin will not mix well with the cannabis industry? Let us know in the comments below.
Images courtesy of Pixbay, Netflix, and Shutterstock
The post Cannabis Executive Doesn’t Understand Bitcoin appeared first on Bitcoinist.net.
The first annual Blockchain Madness, a live-streamed cross-campus student trivia tournament hosted by the Blockchain Education Network, starts March 15.
Six teams of blockchain and Bitcoin all-stars from elite universities across North America will compete in this year’s tournament, fighting for the Blockchain Cup and prestige. Teams from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New York University and the University of California-Berkeley representing the United States will battle it out against three Canadian teams from the University of Toronto, Wilfrid Laurier University and Queen’s University.
Since there are three Canadian teams versus three American teams, a bit of friendly competition has been created.
“I’m very excited for our club to represent Canada and to test my knowledge against other Bitcoin enthusiasts from across North America,” Alex Altman, one of the founders of the Laurier Bitcoin Club, told Bitcoin Magazine.
Nchinda, the executive director of the MIT Bitcoin Club, adds that “BEN is showing promise to realize the goal of a network of clubs interested in the research and development of blockchain technology in a way CCN [College Cryptocurrency Network] never did. I await the next challenge.”
Ryan Loberg, captain of the Queen’s team, says, “Thank you BEN for putting this together and getting students involved in Bitcoin and blockchain technology.”
Nicholas Abouzeid, Director of Operations for the Blockchain Education Network, provided the following statement to explain the motivation behind organizing the tournament:
“We believe in providing an environment that allows students to connect and where successful grassroots initiatives become global movements. In December, we piloted a trivia competition between the MIT and McGill student clubs. Now with six schools across North America, Blockchain Madness is a way to discover trailblazing student clubs around the world and identify top students with proven technical skills and experience. We want the students who compete in March Madness to be seen as student all-stars, in a way similar to basketball players who compete in March Madness.”
There will be three head-to-head matches, and the winning team from each will compete in a final round. Each match is set up in a similar way to a Jeopardy game. There are four categories with five questions in each category. Teams alternate choosing which question is asked and both teams are able to answer each question. If the team answers the question correctly, it is awarded points, and if it answers incorrectly it loses points.
There are a few variations from a typical Jeopardy game. There are two “DISRUPT” tiles, where the tile has a multiple of the number of points, or other fun variations to present unknown elements into the game that can help a team catch up or cement a victory. The last tile is called a “Last Chance,” and each team is able to wager as many points as it has up to that point before seeing the question.
Purse.io is the title sponsor of the event, and to celebrate, each campus is being given a refferal link for their campus, with a prize for the team that creates the most buzz.
In addition, for two weeks leading up to the event, the Blockchain Education Network will post trivia questions daily to Twitter. Each question will have a certain value attached, and it will tally the scores from the community and create a scoreboard. Whoever has the most points by the start of Blockchain Madness will receive a prize.
The post Six Universities to Compete in Cross-Campus Blockchain Trivia appeared first on Bitcoin Magazine.
New bitcoin images:
Bitcoin, bitcoin coin, physical bitcoin, bitcoin photo
Image by antanacoins
Bitcoin coins photo.
Physical bitcoin statistic coin Antana.
Check out these bitcoin images:
Brownian Bitcoins Piles
Image by fdecomite
Bitcoin Currency MVI_3164
Image by btckeychain
Different stores and representations of Bitcoin.
Bitcoin IMG_3147
Image by btckeychain
Different stores and representations of Bitcoin.
Bitcoinist is accepting applications for the Sales Manager job opening. This is your chance to work for one of the fastest-growing Bitcoin media outlets in the world.
The position will be part-time and primary responsibilities will include:
This sales manager role will be aided by the recent surge in popularity at Bitcoinist. Through providing credible, innovative, thought provoking, and timely news, we have driven our Alexa Ranking to the top 70,000 websites worldwide — and we are growing fast! This growth is projected to continue as cryptocurrency and the Blockchain ascend into the media spotlight.
We are at a stage where the Bitcoin ecosystem is growing rapidly. The blocksize and software upgrade debates are raging, the block reward will soon be halving (projected for summer 2016), investment from large banks in Blockchain initiatives is increasing quickly, and daily Bitcoin transactions have grown consistently for 2 years in a row. All of these developments are making for a boom in the Bitcoin media industry, and this job offer is a terrific opportunity to ride the wave. In the Sales Manager position, you can help Bitcoinist in our quest to be the number 1 Bitcoin news site in the world through coordinating efforts in Sales.
Bitcoinist already has committed and skilled sales and writing teams that any Bitcoin fan will likely enjoy working alongside. If you’re new to Bitcoin, we will work with you to learn the technology and empower you to perform as our Sales Manager role. This is a crucial part of our team, and we are looking forward to the contributions that a Sales Manager will bring.
If interested in applying for the Bitcoinist Sales Manager position, please send your CV to info@bitcoinist.net.
A sincere thank you for your support from the entire Bitcoinist Team.
The post Bitcoinist Jobs: Accepting Applications For Sales Manager appeared first on Bitcoinist.net.
