Hub Weekly Digest: Tezos Israel’s HSM, Wall Street, the Treasury Hack, and Debating Encryption
By: Shterny Isseroff
Tags: Cryptocurrency, Hacking, Cybersecurity, Banking, Cloud Computing

Tezos Israel Develops Hardware Device to Protect Network Validators’ Staked Assets

Tezos Israel said in a press release Monday that the hardware security modules, developed in partnership with Hub Security, will allow validators (also known as “bakers”) to store their private keys in a secure cloud or in a separate physical unit, avoiding theft and network disruptions.

Network validators must stake large amounts of cryptocurrency — that is, lock in funds a period of time — to qualify to validate the network. This approach requires “rigorous security,” said Eyal Moshe, CEO of Hub Security. (Source)

Ledger Users Threaten Legal Action after Hacker Dumps Personal Data

The hacker that breached hardware wallet provider Ledger’s marketing database earlier this year has released personal data for thousands of users, prompting many to threaten the firm with a class-action lawsuit.

According to a tweet from network security firm Hudson Rock’s Alon Gal, a hacker allegedly behind the breach of personal data from hardware wallet Ledger in June has made all the information they obtained available online. This reportedly includes 1,075,382 email addresses from users subscribed to the Ledger newsletter, and 272,853 hardware wallet orders with information including email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers. (Source)

The Big US Hack Breaches Treasury’s Top Levels

Each passing day brings new revelations about the SolarWinds hack that infiltrated the systems of U.S. government agencies and major companies. But yesterday yielded a major — and concerning — disclosure: The Russian hackers behind the attack broke into the email system used by top officials at the Treasury Department in July.

Why that’s alarming: “The Treasury Department ranks among the most highly protected corners of the government because of its responsibility for market-moving economic decisions, communications with the Federal Reserve and economic sanctions against adversaries,” The Times’s David Sanger and Alan Rappeport note. (Source)

Wall Street Scrambles to Find Security Plays Amid Unfolding SolarWinds Hack

Wall Street is aflutter trying to figure out the best way to play the still unfolding SolarWinds security breach that last week had investors jumping wholesale into security software stocks of all kinds.

SolarWinds (ticker: SWI) has said close to 18,000 users of its IT management software were left vulnerable in the attack that has affected multiple U.S. government agencies. Experts believe the attack originated with Russian security services, and the full extent of the damage remains still far from clear. (Source)

The Hack Roundup: Treasury Briefing Reignites Encryption Debate in US

Senator Ron Wyden, D-Ore., is drawing attention to the role encryption keys played in facilitating access for the extensive hacking campaign after a Treasury Department briefing of finance committee staff on the incident.

“After years of government officials advocating for encryption backdoors, and ignoring warnings from cybersecurity experts who said that encryption keys become irresistible targets for hackers, the USG has now suffered a breach that seems to involve skilled hackers stealing encryption keys from USG servers,” according to a statement Wyden released after the briefing Monday. (Source)