Kaspersky Builds Tools To Fight RansomWare
RansomWare has undoubtedly hurt Bitcoin’s reputation. RansomWare is a new-ish type of software that locks the victim’s computer files and demand payment, usually in the form of Bitcoin, for them to be unlocked.
Kaspersky Lab’s new tool, as CoinDesk points out, will not completely thwart the growing RansomWare threat. The service works by storing various known decrypter keys and attempts to unlock the files for the victim without paying the ransom.
It isn’t an ideal solution, but it is a start. Bitcoin enables new monetization methods and business models. Unfortunately, some of those are going to be of the criminal variety and that is the case here. Developing software that can defeat RansomWare software is a preferable method to regulation, which would likely be harmful as well as ineffective.
photo credit: Ransom note via photopin (license)
Indian IT Giant InfoSys Looking Into Blockchain Technology
Indian IT company InfoSys says it is looking into Blockchain technology to see how it can help its Finacle core banking software. Finacle currently supports multi-currency transactions and is estimated to be a £200,000,000 business, although InfoSys doesn’t release exact figures.
Blockchain technology, as CoinJournal readers already know, enable the near instant and near friction-less movement of value. It isn’t hard to imagine how that technology could bring down costs for a company like InfoSys.
IWF And Bitcoin Exchanges In ‘Early Talks’ To Fight Child Pornography
The UK-based Internet Watch Foundation (IWF) wants to work with Bitcoin Exchanges in order to combat online child pornography. The IWF’s director of external relations, Emma Hardy was quoted in CoinDesk as saying that they want to move forward working with Bitcoin exchanges. “[W]e’re really open to working with anyone who seeks to keep their services, networks and exchanges free from criminality.”
Bitcoin was, according to the IWF, used in an increasing number of child sexual abuse image transactions in 2014. Those who come across child abuse images are encouraged to report them anonymously at IWF.org.uk
Brawker Shutting Down
Brawker was a service that allowed users to purchase items online using bitcoin from other customers willing to buy those items with a credit card, often with a steep discount. The site announced yesterday that it would be shutting down permanently. Scaling issues and competition were cited as the main factors contributing towards the decision.
Pending orders will be completed, according to the blog post, and users are asked to withdraw any other funds as soon as possible. In addition, the Brawker creators aren’t going to vanish either, they state that they are still believers in Bitcoin and are already working on their next project.
Brawker CTO Gabriel Majoulet, gave this quote to CoinDesk:
“We did not meet our objectives, and the general idea behind the project is not as effective as it was 18 months ago. Buying bitcoin with credit cards is now possible, and more and more merchants are accepting digital currencies.”
That teaser aside, the Bitcoin community will miss Brawker, which was a useful service that helped give Bitcoin an advantage over cash in its early days. Purse.io still runs a similar service.
Come back tomorrow for your daily bitcoin news fix.