Technology

A hacker stole $625 million from the blockchain behind NFT game Axie Infinity

Published

2 years ago

March 29, 2022

A hacker stole 5 million from the blockchain behind NFT game Axie Infinity

Roughly $625 million value of cryptocurrency has been stolen from Ronin, the blockchain underlying standard crypto recreation Axie Infinity. Ronin and Axie Infinity operator Sky Mavis revealed the breach on Tuesday and froze transactions on the Ronin bridge, which permits depositing and withdrawing funds from the corporate’s blockchain.

Sky Mavis says it’s working with legislation enforcement to recuperate 173,600 Ethereum (at the moment value round $600 million) and 25.5 million USDC (a cryptocurrency pegged to the US greenback) from the perpetrator, who withdrew it from the community on March twenty third. The assault targeted on the bridge to Sky Mavis’ Ronin blockchain, an middleman between Axie Infinity and different cryptocurrency blockchains like Ethereum. Customers may deposit Ethereum or USDC to Ronin, then buy non-fungible token gadgets or in-game foreign money, or they may promote their in-game belongings and withdraw the cash.

In accordance with Sky Mavis, an attacker used hacked non-public safety keys to compromise the community nodes that validate transfers to and from the Ronin blockchain. That permit the attacker quietly withdraw massive portions of Ethereum and USDC. The switch was found as we speak — practically every week later — when one other consumer tried to withdraw 5,000 Ethereum by means of the bridge.

Sky Mavis says the “axie” NFT tokens gamers should purchase to entry Axie Infinity haven’t been compromised, nor have the SLP and AXS in-game cryptocurrencies utilized in battling and breeding the pokémon-like cartoon axolotls. (Disclosure: Adi bought three axies for a complete of $105 final month with the intention to report on the sport; axies at the moment promote beginning at round $25 apiece.) However the freezing of withdrawals and deposits successfully locks out many new gamers, and the hack leaves the destiny of different consumer funds on the Ronin blockchain in query. Sky Mavis says it’s “working with legislation enforcement officers, forensic cryptographers, and our traders to ensure there isn’t any lack of consumer funds,” calling that its “prime precedence.”

Validator nodes are a characteristic of proof-of-stake blockchains like Ronin, that are much less power intensive than proof-of-work programs like Bitcoin and Ethereum. The nodes assessment new transactions to substantiate that their inputs and outputs match and that authorization signatures are legitimate, rejecting any transactions that don’t conform. Utilizing a smaller variety of nodes is quicker and extra environment friendly — however because the hack exhibits, it might create safety dangers if a majority of the nodes are compromised. It’s a possible vulnerability for blockchains which might be touted as each cheaper and extra environmentally pleasant than Ethereum.

In accordance with Sky Mavis, the Ronin assault was doable partly due to a shortcut the corporate had taken to alleviate an “immense consumer load” on its community in November of final 12 months — months after the sport exploded in recognition within the Philippines and different international locations the place gamers relied on it as a full-time job. The system was discontinued in December, however the permissions that allowed it had been by no means revoked. Along with compromising 4 of Sky Mavis’ personal nodes, the attacker exploited them to get entry to at least one managed by the community-owned Axie DAO. After compromising 5 of the 9 validator nodes, the attacker may successfully override any transaction safety and withdraw no matter funds they favored.

Sky Mavis says it can improve the required variety of nodes to eight for transactions, and it’ll reopen the Ronin bridge “at a later date” as soon as it’s sure no extra funds could be drained. For now, the Ronin breach seems to be the biggest hack up to now of “decentralized finance” networks, approaching the heels of a $322 million theft from the bridge protocol Wormhole final month.

“As we’ve witnessed, Ronin isn’t resistant to exploitation and this assault has strengthened the significance of prioritizing safety, remaining vigilant, and mitigating all threats,” the corporate stated in its announcement. “We all know belief must be earned and are utilizing each useful resource at our disposal to deploy essentially the most subtle safety measures and processes to stop future assaults.”

Technology

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

Published

1 hour ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Silo season 2 hits Apple TV Plus this November

The end of the world just got a little closer. Apple confirmed that the much-anticipated second season of its postapocalyptic series Silo will start streaming on November 15th.

Based on the trilogy of novels by Hugh Howey, Silo is set in the distant future and follows the remains of humanity, who live in giant underground bunkers — the titular silos — to avoid the deadly world outside. The season 1 finale ended with a big twist that made it clear there’s a lot more going on than the show initially lets on. It also only covers part of the first book, so it’ll be interesting to see how much of the story the new season covers. Silo’s second season will see returning cast members like Rebecca Ferguson, Tim Robbins, and Common.

Technology

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Published

1 hour ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

How to connect your AirPods to your PC and Android devices

Just because Apple’s AirPods are designed for other Apple devices doesn’t mean they will only work on Apple devices.

That’s right, you can use your AirPods on your PC or Android-running mobile device. It isn’t as simple as setting up AirPods with an iPhone or Mac, but it’s also not too complicated.

Follow these steps to connect your AirPods to a Windows PC or Android.

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AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

How to connect AirPods to a PC

Insert the AirPods into their charging case, ensuring they’re at least partially charged.
Open the top of your AirPod charging case, but do not remove the AirPods from the case yet.
Tap and hold the circular button on the rear side of the AirPod charging case for a couple of seconds until the light inside the case blinks white.

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The circular button on the back of the AirPod case (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Now, open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking the Bluetooth icon in the system tray (bottom right of the taskbar) or by searching for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and selecting Bluetooth and other device settings.
Click “Add Bluetooth or other devices” at the top of the settings screen.
On the “Add a device” page, click the top option for Bluetooth.

Bluetooth and device settings on a PC (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

Click the AirPods option from the list of all Bluetooth discoverable devices.
Wait around 30 seconds, and you should see a connection confirmation screen once your AirPods and PC are paired and connected.

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Troubleshooting a failed connection

When you take your AirPods out of their charging case, they should automatically connect to your PC. If your AirPods are having trouble connecting to your PC, don’t panic. Close your AirPods case and your PC’s Bluetooth settings and simply repeat the pairing process outlined above. Your AirPods should automatically connect to your PC after a few seconds every time you remove them from the charging case. If, for any reason, they don’t, follow these steps:

Open your PC’s Bluetooth settings by clicking on the Bluetooth icon in the bottom-right system tray of your taskbar. Alternatively, you can search for “Bluetooth” in your taskbar and select “Bluetooth and other device settings” when it appears.
Scroll down to the Audio section under your Bluetooth list and click on the AirPods listing.
This should reestablish the Bluetooth connection between your PC and AirPods.

Remember that Siri is Apple-only, so you won’t be able to use the voice assistant while your AirPods are connected to your PC.

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Pair AirPods with your Android phone

Connecting AirPods to an Android device is similar to connecting to a PC. Before doing anything, you’ll want to ensure that your AirPods are charged and housed in their case.

Swipe down from the top of the screen on your Android device
Touch and hold the Bluetooth icon
Turn on Bluetooth
Tap Pair new device

AirPods and an Android (Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson)

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Open the lid of your AirPod case, but don’t remove the AirPods from the case.
On your AirPod case, press and hold the button on the rear of the case until the case flashes a white light.
Your AirPods should show up in your Bluetooth devices list.

If you can’t find your AirPods in your Android Bluetooth devices list, check for them under “Available Devices” in your Bluetooth settings. You can also refresh the Bluetooth list by clicking More and then “Refresh.”

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Kurt’s key takeaways

And there you have it. Now, you can easily connect your AirPods to your Windows PC or Android device. Remember, if your AirPods don’t appear in your PC or Android’s Bluetooth device list, simply restart the Bluetooth pairing process. Also, note that Apple-specific features like Siri won’t be available with your AirPods if you use them from a PC or Android device.

What other Apple accessories or devices would you like to see become more compatible with non-Apple platforms and why? Let us know by writing us at Cyberguy.com/Contact

For more of my tech tips and security alerts, subscribe to my free CyberGuy Report Newsletter by heading to Cyberguy.com/Newsletter

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Kurt “CyberGuy” Knutsson is an award-winning tech journalist who has a deep love of technology, gear and gadgets that make life better with his contributions for Fox News & FOX Business beginning mornings on “FOX & Friends.” Got a tech question? Get Kurt’s free CyberGuy Newsletter, share your voice, a story idea or comment at CyberGuy.com.

Technology

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

Published

8 hours ago

July 28, 2024

Press Room

Marvel is bringing the Russo Bros. back to direct the next two Avengers films

During Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic-Con, the studio announced that the Russo brothers have signed on to direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars — the former of which will see Robert Downey Jr, return to the MCU as Doctor Doom. Doomsday is due out in May 2026, while Secret Wars will follow in May 2027.

Doctor Doom showing up just as the Fantastic Four are about to arrive makes it seem like Marvel’s been cooking up a plan to send its beleaguered Multiverse Saga off with a bang — one that’s probably going to be orchestrated by a guy who looks just like Iron Man.