Another Blockchain cyber heist - Stake , the billion dollar heist and cybercrime

Stake.com -  co-founded by Young Rich Lister Ed Craven in 2017 and one of the world’s largest online casinos - has been hacked with more  than $US40 million taken from the exchange’s online wallets. 

The theft was discovered in the early hours of Tuesday morning, when Cyvers, a blockchain security platform, detected $US16 million of “suspicious transactions”. Another blockchain analyst, ZACHXBT, confirmed the number plus an additional $US25.6 million.

Last year, more than $3.7 billion worth of crypto was lost to various hacks and exploits, (coindesk) 

What is Stake?

Stake is an Australian casino and sportsbook that allows users to deposit and play with cryptocurrencies. It made $2.6 billion in revenue in 2022, according to a Financial Times report.

Security Measures: 

Stake.com had a slew of security measures in place, from stringent password policies and 2FA to frequent security audits and encryption technologies. They even advised users on game choices to minimize risks.

What is at Stake? What does this mean to risk and vulnerability 

The hack reveals a sobering truth: even the most secure platforms are vulnerable to sophisticated cyber-attacks. It’s a wake-up call for not only the gambling industry - but online industry such as banks to beef up security protocols and for users to tread carefully.

No platform is entirely safe. It’s crucial for users and platforms alike to up their security game.

Other heists 

Blockchain security company CertiK estimates that approximately $1.3 billion worth of cryptocurrency was lost due to hacks and scams in 2021 alone, a 2,500 percent increase from 2020. 

https://www.theregister.com/AMP/2022/09/20/wintermute_hacked_160m/

Multichain 

Blockchain bridge Multichain has suspended operations and is missing up to USD120 million after seeing “unusual activity” coinciding with a major cyber heist . Before it paused transactions, it was holding a reported USD1.26 billion in crypto currencies.

https://australiancybersecuritymagazine.com.au/multichain-pauses-operations-after-usd120-million-cyber-heist/

 Several cybersecurity firms sounded the alarm on July 6 about an attack after observing abnormally high numbers of tokens transferring from Multichain’s bridging networks to unidentified addresses.

Multichain (formerly known as AnySwap) describes itself as an “enterprise blockchain that actually works,” allows clients to connect blockchains such as Bitcoin and Ethereum via a cross chain bridge.

Last week, hackers stole stablecoins, including Tether, Dai, and USDC, as well as tokens like Chainlink, wrapped Bitcoin, and wrapped Ether 

The funds were moved into six different addresses.

CyVers says Multichain is still uncertain about the exact nature of the incident, adding that in dollar terms, it is the second biggest cyberattack of 2023 to date.

With its CEO (and other senior team members) missing and delayed transactions before the attack, there is intense speculation that Multichain will not resume business.

Cybercrime is prevalent

It’s not only Crypto that is being hacked …. 

Banks are vulnerable 

The Billion Dollar Heist 

Great advertising for latest documentary by

Misha Glenny and director Daniel Gordon - Billion Dollar Heist - 

The doco  illustrates how sophisticated and prevalent cybercrime has become in recent years.

The story is about  how in 2016 , a group of security hackers managed to steal $81 million from the Bangladesh Bank while also accidentally letting a typo keep them from getting away with much more .

The hackers issued 35 fraudulent requests to illegally transfer close to US $1 billion from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York account belonging to the Bangladesh Bank to themselves.

Cybersecurity experts across the world on such high alert.

In 2017, the G20 warned that cyberattacks could “undermine the security and confidence and endanger financial stability.”

Is  this a threat to humanity at large as pandemics, weapons of mass destruction, and climate change ? 

https://study.uq.edu.au/stories/how-do-you-stop-cyber-bank-heist

If cyber security isn't done well, it’s as easy as walking into an unlocked vault. That’s where cyber security experts step in.

According to VMware’s fifth annual Modern Bank Heists Report, 63% of financial institutions admitted experiencing an increase in destructive attacks, with cybercriminals leveraging this method as a means to burn evidence as part of counter incident response. Additionally, 74% experienced at least one ransomware attack over the past year, with 63% paying the ransom.

“What exactly are these cybercrime cartels looking for? We’re witnessing an evolution from a bank heist to economic espionage, where cybercriminals target corporate information or strategies that can affect the share price of a company as soon as it becomes public,” wrote Tom Kellermann, head of the cybersecurity strategy at VMware in a blog post.

How can cybercrime be stopped?

How can you mitigate the risk?

Kala Philip of BSILearning says that it starts with education . 

Every professional and employee should be aware of the risks and strategies on how cybercrime can be mitigated . 

Bridgit cleans up at the Ashurst fintech awards 2023

Nick Jacobs and Aaron Bassin Bridgit last week took home the win for:

🚀 Best Innovation in Lending

🚀 Best FinTech growth Story

Huge shout out to Glen Frost and the Bridgit team, customers, partners and shareholders,

The pain 💥

A person buying their next home needs to “bridge” the money needed between buying a new home and selling an existing home.

The pain killer - Bridgit 💊

Bridgit allow borrowers to use the equity from their existing home to buy their next home –

with faster, fairer, and more simple property finance solutions with no double mortgages, no temporary living costs and no missed opportunities.

Technology 

With its technology , innovative credit and risk modelling , in-built algorithms and automated processes, Bridgit is able to offer a24-hour approval. 

Customer focussed

Bridgit built its own CRM and customer portal, as well as an online application which can be completed in 5 minutes: meaning a smooth experience for customers. 

‍

Investors 

The company raised $13.2 million in equity and secured $100 million in venture debt funding in 2021 and secured an additional $50 million in funding from Silicon Valley-based fund Partners for Growth (PFG) this year. 

Another win for OIF ventures! 

What the industry is saying  

Finder home loans editor Richard Whitten enthused 

“Bridging loans are a neglected segment of the Australian credit landscape and Bridgit has created a new product and platform that serves user needs while adding elements of tech-driven convenience that feel genuinely new for this industry.”

Aaron Bassin shared with Business news Australia last year 

Since launching its services the average loan written by Bridgit has been $1 million. The size of Bridgit’s average loan is larger than an average mortgage because the debt straddles both properties in the buy and sell stage.

Bassin says after a heady year of growth, lending volumes are continuing to rise for the company.

Another OIF win! 

http://bsivc.blogspot.com/2023/07/oif-team-members-david-shein-jerry.html?m=1

Kiki raises $6m providing a solution for shared housing

Kiki founded by New Zealander Toby Thomas-Smith, Jack Montgomerie, Alexander Nicholson has raised a  $6M seed round to launch in New York! 

What's Kiki.nyc? A refreshing take on subletting — focussed on the people, not the property. 🏠

 It’s not just a listing app; it’s a community led marketplace. 

Kiki leverages social ties and similarities to overcome the pain of leasing out your own room. Unlocking otherwise empty space and bringing money back to locals. 🌏 - says the team at Blackbird ! 

The Investors 

Blackbird led the round with $4.5m joining tech giants, like ex-Airbnb’s Harry Uffindell, Facebook Marketplace founder Bowen Pan, Michelle Battersby, Sunroom founder and ex. Bumble exec, former Canva exec and founder of Phase One Ventures Mahesh Muralidhar, as well as ex-Uber execs Tyler Trerotola and Jaikumar Ganesh.

The target market 

Kiki is aimed at everyday people that aren’t looking to make a profit. Instead, the app targets users who travel for months at a time and don’t want to lose money on rent while they’re away.

“We’re not taking away housing,” Thomas-Smith told us. “We’re using empty space that’s literally already there… we’re bringing money back to the locals.”

How Kiki Works 

Kiki works similarly to dating apps since it matches listers with renters with similar likes and preferences. 

The app follows an invite-only “friend of friends” model to ensure people are vouched for and will hopefully respect someone else’s space. Users must link their Instagram accounts to be accepted. 

The challenge 

It’s all about human psychology says Toby!

How can someone go from being a stranger to a friend of a friend as quickly as possible - using profiling as a key tool 

It had a list of prompts that renters can choose from. For instance, “How would your friends describe you in one sentence?” “I go crazy for” and “This year, I really want to.” Listers are able to set criteria for their listing, such as minimum age or no smokers.

The  business model 

Kiki also has a management feature where users can keep track of on-time payments, secure deposit holdings and e-sign sublet agreements. 

For each listing, Kiki takes 10% of the rent price.

Thomas-Smith founded the company as Easyrent in 2018 while attending university in New Zealand and working for Airbnb.

The Pain 

“I was working for Airbnb cleaning toilets and discovered this whole short-term rental market,” Thomas-Smith said. “I learned that these properties were making all their profit over the summer, and then they would lose money over the winter. [I was] like, ‘How are these places sitting empty for almost half a year?’ It seemed crazy to me.”

He also discovered that all his college friends renting places for the school year were wasting money when they went home for breaks. 

The Pain Killer 

To solve this problem, Thomas-Smith built an invite-only matchmaking service — originally called EasyRent — that allowed New Zealand-based students to rent out their places during the summer, mainly to other students coming into town for internships.

In 2021, when EasyRent gained enough traction, Thomas-Smith brought on Jack Montgomerie as co-founder and software engineer Alexander Nicholson to help expand its user base to a wider audience.

The startup closed a $230,000 (NZD) seed round in 2022 and launched in Sydney, Australia, to users in Bondi Beach. EasyRent filled 1,500 homes just in that one neighborhood alone! 

Focussed Energy

Kiki is placing all its energy  on the New York marketplace and is  sunsetting the app in New Zealand and Australia

This October, Kiki is rolling out to one neighborhood to start — either East Village or Williamsburg. Interestingly enough, it will also only be available to Australians at launch. The company saw the most demand from Aussies, particularly those who moved to NYC and want to save on rent when they visit family abroad.

How to Join the community

Users interested in signing up for the waitlist must submit their selfies along with their Instagram accounts. Kiki is accepting the top 10 people every week based on how many friends they invite and how many people share their Instagram story with @kikiclub.nyc tagged.

In the coming weeks, Kiki plans to gradually roll out to different neighborhoods and nationalities. It will be available to everyone in NYC in a few months.

Note that subletting an apartment in New York requires the landlord’s permission. If a tenant sublets without approval, the landlord may take legal action against them. A sublease in NYC must last for a minimum of 30 days.

And then Expansion 

Thomas-Smith said Kiki wants to expand to the top 10 cities in the U.S., including Boston, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Seattle and Austin. 

With investors already lined up for a future Series A funding round, the startup also ambitiously plans to grow its team to 100 employees and launch in 20 cities in Europe by 2024.

“An engineer, a doctor, a lawyer and an economist start a company GO1 …”A $3 billion juggernaut

“An engineer, a doctor, a lawyer and an economist start a company …” what a joke !!

Brisbane Schoolmates Andrew Barnes ,  Vu Tran and Chris Eigeland founded Go1 in 2015 and is now a $3-billion edtech juggernaut! 

 They have just acquired Blinkist - the for around $100m 

• Eigeland studied law, 
• Vu trained as a medical doctor and became a general practitioner and 
• Barnes did economics, then a masters in educational technology at Oxford as a Rhodes scholar. 

Barnes met Go1’s fourth co-founder, 

• tech guru Chris Hood  

The growth 

They started collaborating with their software business, which over the course of the next few years grew to employ 50 people.

Surviving on personal credit cards, the growth was thrilling. “It was exciting to see 100 users on the platform ,” says Hood. 
 “Then it would be 1000 and then 10,000.” The company has maintained astonishing growth rates, doubling year on year since founding. 

The pain 

All of them realised how difficult it was to access materials and all the different platforms you had to traverse to get them. 

The Painkiller 

How do you create a platform to unify educational content for businesses to upskill their staff?

How GO2 started 

Barnes applied to  Y Combinator – the accelerator that gave birth to Stripe, Airbnb, and Dropbox – It involved three months living on site at Mountain View, California, doing business building and workshops. Y Combinator took 7% equity for US$120,000 seed money. 

The magic bullet 

The magic bullet or secret sauce  they learnt 

 ‘Build something that people want and do  it really well.

“We’d go talk to companies: ‘Would you like to buy our offering of content?’ How many courses do you have?’ ‘Eight.’ They were not particularly excited to talk to us. Then Barnes and Vu would sell features they didn’t have and it would fall to Chris Hood -in charge of the software - to deliver. 
“So, you’d scramble to build it,” recalls Hood. “It’s how we learnt what people wanted.” 

The Vision 

About a year in, Barnes set the target of “a billion learners” and a mission statement of unlocking positive potential in people through a love of learning. 
 So out of four friends, why is Barnes the boss? (although he is co-CEO with Eigeland.)  
 
“Barne’s  the one that drove us to do the Y Combinator application.  His ambition has been the rate-determining factor for how big this thing could be. The second part is that we’ve always been friends first, founders second.” Says Vu
If the partners disagree - the CEO has the final say! 
 
Capital Raise Journey 

• $30 million in 2019, 

• $61 million in 2020, 

• $272 million in 2021 as online learning surged during the Covid pandemic.

Vu believes they got the billion-dollar valuation, from the goal  of a billion learners.

Transnational cybersecurity certification program in partnership with Cyberpeace and BSI Learning, Australia.

Excited to launch our first initiative in the coming months as part of BSI Learning Group's new strategy with the incredible CyberPeace Foundation - The program is the first from an amazing new international partnership lead by our talented Kala Philip (MAICD, GAICD) to deliver international certifications in Cyber - supporting future skills development in this critical discipline. #cybereducation #skillstraining #india #australia #globalpartnerships #g20india 

#CyberPeace☮️ is thrilled to announce our first transnational cybersecurity certification program in partnership with BSI Learning, Australia.

Mark your calendars for September 21, 2023 – the International Day of Peace – as we set the stage for a high-profile summit on #Cybersecurity Governance & Skills in #NewDelhi, featuring top tech industry leaders, alongside the esteemed Australian Trade and Investment Commission (Austrade) Trade and Investment Commissioner for South Asia, Leo Bremanis. 

Thank you Kala Philip, CEO, BSI Learning and Scott Wesley for enabling the synergy to globally recognised #cybersecurity education and skill development and Vipul Rastogi, Austrade for facilitating the partnership. 

Simon Dewar Arushi Gaur Ivan Kaye Scott Henderson Dylan Chan Craig Saphin Tony Surtees @Michael Lynch 

Stay tuned as we pave the way for a safer digital world.

#CyberSecurityProgram #CyberEducation #India #Australia #GlobalSynergy #GlobalPartnerships #EducationPrograms #CyberSecurityCourse #G20India #InternationalDayofPeace

Failure Fail and innovate and focus on Customer Experience can be Fatal

It’s crazy to think that 88% of the Fortune 500 firms that existed in 1955 are gone. 

Most of these companies are unrecognizable, forgotten companies today. 

The question is… which companies will recognize (and adapt to) transformative and disruptive moments, and which ones won’t? How relevant is your company today. How relevant is your competition?

WHY

Failure to innovate?

Natural lifecycle?

Retirement if leader?

Lack of customer focus?

Fear to change? 

Here are some famous companies that failed to innovate, resulting in business failure.

BLOCKBUSTER (1985 – 2010)

Home movie and video game rental services giant, Blockbuster Video, was founded in 1985 and arguably one of the most iconic brands in the video rental space.  At its peak in 2004, Blockbuster employed 84,300 people worldwide and had 9,094 stores. Unable to transition towards a digital model, Blockbuster filed for bankruptcy in 2010.

In 2000, Netflix approached Blockbuster with an offer to sell their company to Blockbuster for US$50 million. The Blockbuster CEO, was not interested in the offer because he thought it was a "very small niche business" and it was losing money at the time. As of July 2017, Netflix had 103.95 million subscribers worldwide and a revenue of US$8.8bn.

Why did Netflix succeed and Blockbuster fail?

2 things

• Customer experience

And

• Innovation 

2. POLAROID (1937 – 2001)

In the 50s, 60s, and 70s, Polaroid was the coolest tech company on earth. Led by visionary founder Edwin Land, it grew from a 1937 garage startup into a billion-dollar phenomenon - no wonder Steve Jobs saw him as a personal hero and an inspiration for Apple. 

Polaroid had the tech for digital cameras but shelved it as it was going to impact its historically successful film business .

Polaroid neglected the need to explore new territory and enhance their long-term viability.

The original Polaroid Corporation was declared bankrupt in 2001 and its brand and assets were sold off.

Why did Apple succeed and polaroid fail?

2 things

• Customer experience

And

• Innovation 

3.TOYS R US (1948 – 2017)

Amidst the rising tides of e-commerce, the business world going global and games converting to online, Toys R Us failed to adjust and adapt 

Toys “R” Us filed  for bankruptcy in September 2017 under pressure from its debt of US$1bn and fierce online retail competition.

Amazon is now one of the most valuable companies on the planet 

Why did Amazon  succeed and Toys R Us fail?

2 things

• Customer experience

And

• Innovation 

5. BORDERS (1971 – 2011)

Borders was an international book and music retailer was unable to transition to the new business environment of digital and online books. 

Its missteps included holding too much debt, opening too many stores as well as jumping into the e-reader business to late.

Sadly, Borders closed all of its retail locations and sold off its customer loyalty list, comprising millions of names, to competitor Barnes & Noble for US$13.9 million. Borders' locations have since been purchased and repurposed by other large retailers.

Why did Kindle  succeed and Borders fail?

2 things

• Customer experience

And

• Innovation‍

7. TOWER RECORDS (1960 – 2004) vs IPHONE

A pioneer in its time, Tower Records was the first to create the concept of the retail music mega-store. 

Founded by Russell Solomon in 1960, Tower Records sold CDs, cassette tapes, DVDs, electronic gadgets, video games, accessories and toys.

Ahead of its time for a fleeting moment, Tower.com launched in 1995, making it one of the first retailers to move online. 

Its huge exposure to  debt  led to  its bankruptcy in 2004. 

Tower Records could not keep up with digital disruptions such as music piracy, iTunes and streaming businesses such as Spotify and Pandora. 

KODAK (1889-2012)‘

At one time the world’s biggest film company, Kodak could not keep up with the digital revolution, for fear of cannibalizing its strongest product lines. 

The leader of design, production and marketing of photographic equipment hesitated  to fully embrace the transition to digital led to its demise. 

For example, Kodak invested  billions of dollars into developing technology for taking pictures using mobile phones and other digital devices. However, it held back from developing digital cameras for the mass market for fear of eradicating its all-important film business.

 Kodak filed for bankruptcy in 2012

https://www.collectivecampus.io/blog/10-companies-that-were-too-slow-to-respond-to-change

http://bsivc.blogspot.com/2013/08/if-you-want-to-succeed-dont-be-afraid.html?m=1

How do you make innovation become part of your DNA ?

 Some that come to my mind are:-

• To encourage individuality ,
• being different ,
• empowering thought .
• Embracing failure and risk taking

A cool story about failure!

It’s one of my favourite stories, all the better for being true.

 A young chemist had been working for some time at developing a new bonding agent, a glue. Eventually the work was complete. He tried it out. It didn’t stick. What’s the use of a glue that doesn’t stick? A failure. Time wasted. Effort spent in vain. Back to the laboratory to try again. So, ninety-nine out of a hundred people would have concluded. The young chemist was the one in a hundred who thought differently.

Instead of deciding that his work was a failure, he asked, “What if it’s a success? What if I’ve discovered a solution? The only thing left to do is to find the problem.” He refused to give up. He kept asking himself, What’s the use of a glue that doesn’t stick? Eventually he found it. It became a huge commercial success. I use it all the time. It’s used for notes you can attach and detach at will. 

That’s how the “Post-it” pad was born.

 

I think of that story every time I hear someone write off their own or other people’s efforts as a failure. That is not just negative thinking. It’s destructive – of confidence, morale, self-respect. More importantly, it’s not true, or at least, not the best way of seeing things.

Creation, by its very nature, involves taking risks – the experiment that fails, the attempt that doesn’t quite come off. Each is part of the process that leads to discovery. Each is a learning experience. Analysing why something fails is often one of the most instructive exercises we can undertake. 

Creativity without failure is like being lifted to the top of a mountain without the climb. It’s fun. But it isn’t an achievement.

 “According to the effort,” said the sages, “is the reward.”

A few other failures that were the biggest successes!

Moses Maimonides 

Nor are we, here, now, in a position to judge success. I think of Moses Maimonides, the great Jewish thinker of the Middle Ages. Late in life he wrote a book. It was, he tells us in one of his letters, written for a single disciple who had doubts about his faith. It took a long time. Maimonides was in those days a physician as well the leader of his community, and the hours were hard to find. Eventually he completed it and sent it to the young man. From his reply it’s clear that it didn’t work. Perhaps he didn’t understand it. At any rate it didn’t answer his questions. 

A failure in Maimonides’ lifetime. 

The name of the book? “The Guide for the Perplexed”, the greatest work of Jewish philosophy ever written.

Moses

I think, too, of the first Moses. What would his obituary have been like, written by a contemporary? The evidence is there throughout the books that bear his name. When he intervened on behalf of his people, they complained. He hadn’t made things better; he’d made them worse. In Egypt, their burdens were made heavier. Leaving Egypt, they came up against the Red Sea. Crossing the sea, they found a desert. First there was no water. Then there was no food. Then the people complained there was no meat. Having given the Israelites the Ten Commandments they made a Golden Calf. Sending spies to prepare their entry into the land, they came back and said, it’s impossible. Every effort he made to form a free and holy people collapsed. Nor was he privileged to set foot in the land to which he had spent forty years travelling. Can a life of failures be a success? Sometimes it can be the greatest life there is.

As we journey through Elul and look back over our year, we must remind ourselves of an important lesson: you have to make a blessing over failures too.

– Rabbi Sacks (Ellul 5779 / September 2019)

What are examples of organisations who failed because they didn’t innovate?  

https://australianinnovation.blogspot.com/2023/08/its-crazy-to-think-that-of-fortune-500.html