PowerKee’s Bastion of Privacy #40 — A breach impacting over 87,000 devices has resulted in the data of blue-chip companies from 74 countries being exposed
Enterprise cybersecurity company Fortinet has advised its customers to disable all VPNs and upgrade their Fortinet software. The statement comes after a security breach that involves the disclosure of the VPN login details associated with 87,000 devices.
According to Fortinet, the login names and passwords of the affected devices have been compromised. The affected devices are said to be those who were yet to upgrade from a previously vulnerable version of the system.
In the latest Bastion of Privacy, we highlight the limitations of traditional security systems that rely on constant upgrades. We also present the upsides of decentralized applications and protocols that are built on a rigorously secure architecture. Before we jump into that release, we also have an update on the state of development in the PowerKee ecosystem.
PowerKee Development Update — KEE token distribution upcoming
The PowerKee wallet was made available to the public several weeks ago and we have received exemplary reviews regarding it’s design and functionality. We are almost ready to distribute KEE tokens. However, we are ensuring that the network and infrastructure for masternodes is entirely secure before we proceed with that.
It’s been a monumental year of progress. With a minimal raise of just $360k, we have managed to build our own privacy blockchain, a wallet solution, and a native token. The development team has been putting their full efforts into creating this sublime crypto solution that will make privacy easy for all cryptocurrency users and newcomers.
The final part of this process will be the distribution of KEE tokens. But to do this, we need to carry out a rigorous review and audit of security. If we distribute the tokens and a bug is later found, it would be extremely detrimental to the network.
We are approaching an extremely exciting phase in the development of PowerKee with the full solution almost ready for public use. We thank all of the long-term stakeholders and advocates who have maintained interest in our solution throughout this time. We are thrilled to be distributing the KEE tokens to stakeholders in the near-term future.
Traditional security systems are limited
According to Fortinet, the stolen information included data from blue-chip enterprises with 74 countries. Enterprises from countries such as France, Israel, the United States, and India were among the list.
Part of the leaked credentials has already been shared on the Russian-speaking forum RAMP which was launched in July 2021. The forum leak severely compromises companies that were included on the list.
This is not the only breach that has taken place recently. Just a few days ago, another hacker claimed to have stolen sensitive information from 7 million Israelis. The hacker claims to have stolen the data by illegally accessing the municipality-focused website City4U.
7 million people represents roughly 80% of the Israeli population which would make this incident the biggest hack in Israel’s history if proven to be true. Part of the supposedly stolen information has already been published by the hacker. The information published includes identification cards, driver’s licenses, and tax forms, as the hacker looks to sell the information for a price that is yet to be named.
Time and again, traditional security systems have failed to protect the critical data of users who willingly submitted their data. This has led to an increasing trend in cybercrime cases, especially since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic which resulted in an explosion in online activities across the world.
A situation that calls for urgent solutions
Since the start of the pandemic, the number of cybercrime cases that have been reported in the US alone has risen by 300%. By the end of 2021, cybercrime is expected to cost the world about $6 trillion. This situation calls for a state of emergency, and the industry needs to adopt a different approach in the pursuit of cybersecurity.
Rather than the traditional systems whose weaknesses have been exposed above, decentralized networks offer a more secure architecture to their users. This becomes even more important as financial services increasingly migrate online.
Privacy-focused decentralized networks like PowerKee put particular focus on protecting the data of their users. PowerKee users can easily transfer and store their value across a decentralized network. Moreover, they have the option to ensure that every transaction is anonymous.
About PowerKee
PowerKee is a cryptocurrency network that makes privacy easy. Users can transact cheaply and instantly while maintaining anonymity. The PowerKee protocol uses a mixture of zero-knowledge proofs and coin mixing to provide strong privacy assurances to its users.
