Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has challenged crypto exchanges on their commitment to immutable transactions. Elementus CEO and Co-founder Max Galka joined CoinDesk TV’s”First Mover” to share his take on crypto’s role in the Russia-Ukraine war, discussing ransomware, Russia, and how crypto asset exchanges can use blockchain analytics technology to proactively clean up the crypto space (segment starts ~2:40): Watch the segment here.
The exchanges have resisted blocking Russian users from using their services. But technology exists that might help them to maintain their principles and identify bad actors. Many companies have withdrawn from Russia to protest Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. So far, major cryptocurrency exchanges in the U.S. have resisted, saying they won’t do it unilaterally. Read more here.
It’s no secret that the country that’s most responsible for ransomware attacks is Russia. The threat of ransomware attacks on U.S. businesses and critical infrastructure recently took an ominous turn when a prominent Russian ransomware group named Conti — threatened to attack any nation or organization retaliating against Moscow for its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Now, a groundbreaking new report titled Ransomware: A Technology Pandemic on the Brink, from New …
“We are facing a technology pandemic on the brink,” according to a new report from blockchain analytics firm Elementus, which relates that ransomware gangs made over $1 billion in 2021, far higher than earlier estimates. Max Galka, Elementus’ CEO, said most ransomware attacks are now perpetrated by a few large groups based in Russia and other former Soviet republics, which Elementus warns are “becoming more agile, dangerous, and defiant every year.” …
Max Galka, CEO, founder, and chief data scientist at Elementus, agreed. While he didn’t think the threat of regime change was credible, ransomware inside a federal or national government is still a major crisis. “If I were in the shoes of the Costa Rican government, I would be extremely nervous,” he said. “And the truth is, even they probably don’t know the full extent of what the ransomware could do.” He …
Cryptocurrency hacks are getting bigger. On Sunday, a hacker exploited a new algorithmic stablecoin project called Beanstalk and drained it of $182 million worth of digital assets. Hackers are finding larger exploits amid the increase of decentralized finance, or DeFi, projects. Hackers tend to target new protocols that haven’t been fully tested and vetted, said Max Galka, chief executive of crypto forensics firm Elementus. Read WSJ article here.
