HACKERS ARE NOW USING COMPROMISED CLOUD ACCOUNTS TO MINE CRYPTO

Attackers are exploiting poorly configured cloud accounts to mine crypto, Google warned users in a recent report.

Cryptocurrency mining is a computationally intensive activity. And Google Cloud customers can access it at a cost. However, miners are now hacking Google Cloud accounts for mining purposes.
In the report titled “Threat Horizons,” Google’s cybersecurity team assessed various threats to Cloud users, providing details of the breaches.

The report also provided cybersecurity threat intelligence to cloud users. The aim is to enable them “better configure their environments and defenses in manners most specific to their needs.”

Crypto Miners Hacking Google Accounts

In the report, the cybersecurity team analyzed 50 recently compromised Google Cloud accounts. And out of those, 86% were related to crypto mining. “Malicious actors were observed performing cryptocurrency mining within compromised Cloud instances,” Google wrote.

The report also stated that in the majority of these incidents, the hackers downloaded crypto mining software to the compromised accounts within 22 seconds. The attacks were scripted, and it would have been impossible to manually stop them. Additionally, in 10% of these incidents, the hackers scanned other publicly available resources on the Internet to identify vulnerable systems. While in 8% of the instances, they attacked other targets.

However, as reported by the cybersecurity team, the crypto mining hacks were not the only attacks.

“The cloud threat landscape in 2021 was more complex than just rogue cryptocurrency miners, of course,” wrote Bob Mechler, Google Cloud Director of the office of the Chief Information Security Officer, and Seth Rosenblatt, Google Cloud Security Editor, in a blog post.

Other Threats To Google Cloud Users

Another threat the team identified was a phishing attack by the Russian group called APT28, or Fancy Bear. The attackers targeted 12,000 Gmail accounts in a mass phishing attempt. They attempted to trick users into handing over their login details. Google, however, said it had blocked all the phishing emails, and no user was compromised.

The report also pointed out an attack by a North Korean government-backed group. This hacker group posed as Samsung recruiters, sending fake job opportunities to employees at South Korean information security companies. They attached a malicious link to malware stored in Google Drive. Google said it also blocked it.

Another threat to cloud users is ransomware attacks, whereby hackers encrypt users’ data until they pay. In the report, Google mentions the formidable Black Matter ransomware group. And although the group announced that it was shutting down earlier this month, Google is still cautious. 

“Google has received reports that the Black Matter ransomware group has announced it will shut down operations given outside pressure. Until this is confirmed, Black Matter still poses a risk.”

Google attributes some of these attacks to users’ poor security practices. And also vulnerabilities in third-party software that the users install. The report also recommends a few ways to prevent these attacks. One of which is enabling two-factor authentication....

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BITCOIN ATTEMPTS RECOVERY‚ WHY BTC COULD REVISIT $60‚000

Bitcoin started a fresh increase above $57,000 against the US Dollar. BTC could extend recovery and it might revisit the $60,000 resistance in the near term.

Bitcoin started a fresh increase above the $57,000 and $57,500 levels.
The price is now trading above $57,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $54,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair (data feed from Kraken).
The pair must clear the $60,000 resistance to continue higher in the near term.

Bitcoin Price is Back above 100 SMA

Bitcoin price found support near the $53,500 level and started a fresh increase. BTC broke the $55,000 resistance zone to start a decent recovery wave.

There was a break above a key bearish trend line with resistance near $54,800 on the hourly chart of the BTC/USD pair. Besides, the pair surpassed the 50% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $59,376 swing high to $53,576 swing low.

It is now trading above $57,000 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. An immediate resistance on the upside is near the $58,000 level. It is near the 76.4% Fib retracement level of the downward move from the $59,376 swing high to $53,576 swing low.

The next key resistance is near the $58,500 level. A close above the $58,000 and $58,500 levels may possibly push the price towards $60,000. If there is a close above the $60,000 level, the price could accelerate higher.

The next major resistance sits near the $61,200 level. Any more gains could lead the price towards the $62,000 level in the near term.

Fresh Decline In BTC?

If bitcoin fails to clear the $58,000 resistance zone, it could start a fresh decline. An immediate support on the downside is near the $57,200 level.

The first major support is now forming near the $56,500 level. The next major support is near the $56,000 level and the 100 hourly SMA, below which the price could resume its decline towards the $55,000 support. Any more losses may possibly push the price towards $53,500.

Technical indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD is now gaining pace in the bullish zone.
Hourly RSI (Relative Strength Index) – The RSI for BTC/USD is currently in the overbought zone.
Major Support Levels – $57,000, followed by $56,500.
Major Resistance Levels – $58,000, $58,500 and $60,000....

AUSTRALIAN SUPER REST RETIREMENT FUND TO INVEST IN CRYPTOCURRENCIES

Australia remains outstanding with its increased swing and adoption of cryptocurrencies by the populace. Despite its volatility, the popularity of digital assets has triggered more investment moves towards this financial asset.

Joining in the train of crypto investment within the country is the Retail Employees Superannuation Trust (Rest Super). By its indication to invest superannuation fund in cryptocurrency, the Australia Rest Super will be the first of its type to do so. Before now, the entire retirement fund sector has been careful with cryptocurrency.

With about 1.8M members, Rest Super fund’s assets under management (AUM) are worth $46.8 billion. However, superannuation is mandatory for all Australian employees. It has an equivalence of a U.S. Individual Retirement Account or 401k.

Speaking on Tuesday during the annual general meeting of Super Rest Fund, Andrew Lill, the company’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), acknowledged the volatility of such crypto investments. However, he said that their allocation to the investment is a part of diversifying their portfolio.

The CIO mentioned that the company considers cryptocurrencies an important investment aspect and will exercise caution in its move. However, he stated that his opinion is that the investment introduces members to digital assets and blockchain technology.

Hence, they could access a stable source of value within a period where people stick more to crypto investment to combat fiat currency inflation.

Furthermore, another statement from a Rest spokesperson explained that the firm considers cryptocurrencies as a diversifying means of its members’ retirement fund. But, the plan may not be a direct investment.

In addition, the spokesperson confirmed that the company is still doing its research before its final decisions. Also, they are focusing on both the regulations and security involved in crypto investment.

Investment In Cryptocurrencies To Strive In The Country

Contrasting comments are coming within the week to the ones from the Australian Rest Super. On Monday, Paul Schroder, the Chief executive of the $167 billion funds, stated that crypto is not an investment option for their members.

Reports from last month revealed that Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), an investment fund owned by the state, is considering embracing cryptocurrency. But, contrary to that, the company, this week, disclosed to Business Insider the implication of the reports. Hence, it piped down all moves towards digital assets.

The Head of Currency at QIC, Stuart Simmons, said he wants superannuation funds to embrace cryptocurrency. However, the move is likely to be a gradual trickling instead of a massive flow.

The entire deliberation on Australian superannuation funds is happening within the period of a bullish trend in the country’s crypto market. This is after the Senate committee brought up some regulatory proposals within October.

It catalyzes pushing the country as a focal point in crypto transactions. Also, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) intends to offer cryptocurrency trading earlier in the month through its banking app.

As more cryptocurrency adoption is expected in the country, Matt Comyn, the CEO of CBA, commented on the bank action this week. The CEO explained that participation in digital assets is motivated by FOMO. He said that though there are risks to their involvement, there will be more significant risks with their non-participation....

BITCOIN′S SLUGGISH PHASE A BLESSING IN DISGUISE‚ ALTSEASON LED BY ETHEREUM IN THE CARDS

Altcoins have largely been outperforming Bitcoin of late. In just the past week alone, top coins like ETH, BNB, AVAX and MATIC have fetched their investors with 10%, 16%, 17% and 22% returns respectively. Bitcoin, on the other hand, found it quite challenging to deliver 3% in the same timeframe.

King versus the rest

Along with the not-so-high ROI and the monotonous trend on its price charts, Bitcoin has also been losing its dominance. By and large, this is not a really good sign for the king-coin.

Nevertheless, that’s not the whole picture. Bitcoin losing command in the market indicates that other altcoins have started adding value to their market-cap at a much quicker pace now.

Consider this – after 2018, Bitcoin’s dominance dunked below 50% for the first time earlier in May this year. Post that, it did manage to recover slightly, but hasn’t been able to re-attain its previous highs since. At press time, Bitcoin was able to assert only 42.2% dominance in the broader market.

Ethereum has been able to make up for that lost dominance. At press time, the largest alt’s dominance was seen revolving quite close to 20%. Other large-cap coins have also stepped up over the past few weeks and the likes of Solana, Polkadot, Binance Coin, etc. now have a 1.5% to 4% say in the market.

Why aren’t the stars aligned for BTC?

At this point, Bitcoin is prone to a massive downfall. More so, because its market is currently overheated. The state of the estimated leverage ratio pointed towards the same.

As per data from CryptoQuant, this metric has been making new highs of late. Last time in September when this ratio made a local peak, Bitcoin’s price recorded a sharp dip before recovering and inching up further.

For a healthy price uptrend, it is quite crucial for leverage to be flushed out of the market. So, if that happens now, there are quite high chances of the king-coin shedding some of its value. If that indeed happens, its dominance would likely end up falling further.

The ETH-BTC realized volatility spread and implied volatility spread depicted another intriguing trend. As such, whenever both these indices have risen in the past, Bitcoin has largely been outperformed by Ethereum – in making both higher highs and lower lows.

Now, as far as the IV is concerned, it has been able to maintain its high levels and hasn’t succumbed back to early-October lows as such. Even the RV, for that matter, has steeply risen since the beginning of November. Thus, at this point, ETH clearly has a positional advantage when compared to BTC.

Ethereum’s short term prospects seem to be in good shape now. The broader trader sentiment remains bullish and even the uptrend signs on its price chart have gotten a lot more concrete of late. The same was highlighted in-depth in a recent article.

Ergo, in the light of these aforementioned trends, it is quite likely that the market would see the alts, led by Ethereum, rally more before Bitcoin starts pumping again....

ETHEREUM GAINS MOMENTUM‚ DIPS TURN ATTRACTIVE IN NEAR TERM

Ethereum gained pace above the $4,350 resistance against the US Dollar. ETH could accelerate higher if there is a clear break above the $4,550 resistance zone.

Ethereum is trading in a bullish zone above the $4,350 level.
The price is now well above $4,250 and the 100 hourly simple moving average.
There is a major bullish trend line forming with support near $4,360 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD (data feed via Kraken).
The pair could continue higher if it stays above the $4,350 support level in the near term.

Ethereum Price Extends Gains

Ethereum extended increase above the $4,350 resistance level. ETH price even broke the $4,440 level and settled well above the 100 hourly simple moving average.

There was a steady increase and the even climbed above $4,500. A high was formed near $4,552 and the price is now correcting lower. It traded below the $4,500 level. There was a break below the 23.6% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $4,169 swing low to $4,552 high.

Ether price is now well above $4,250 and the 100 hourly simple moving average. There is also a major bullish trend line forming with support near $4,360 on the hourly chart of ETH/USD.

An initial resistance on the upside is near the $4,500 level. The first major resistance is near the $4,550 level. A close above the $4,500 and $4,550 levels could start a fresh increase in the near term. In the stated case, the price might rise towards the $4,620 level. Any more gains could lift the price towards the $4,750 zone in the near term.

Dips Limited in ETH?

If ethereum fails to start a fresh increase above the $4,500 level, it could extend its downside correction. An initial support on the downside is near the $4,400 level.

The first key support is now forming near the $4,350 level, the trend line, and the 100 hourly simple moving average. The trend line is near the 50% Fib retracement level of the upward move from the $4,169 swing low to $4,552 high. A downside break below the trend line could lead the price towards the $4,250 support.

Technical Indicators:

Hourly MACD – The MACD for ETH/USD is gaining pace in the bearish zone.
Hourly RSI – The RSI for ETH/USD is now correcting lower towards the 40 level.
Major Support Level – $4,350
Major Resistance Level – $4,550...