Computing

Feb 01 2021

Zimperium Impresses; Named Top Cybersecurity Startup for 2021

“So, get ready to be really impressed,” Max Kurton of EM360 – a global technology platform – exclaimed as he revealed Zimperium as the number one cybersecurity startup of EM360’s Top 5 Cybersecurity Startups for 2021.

In the article – part of EM360’s Emerge5 series – Max writes, “With new technology comes new adversaries and with new adversaries comes new solutions. From typosquatting to machine learning poisoning, the last decade proved to us that threats can come in any form. The best way to protect yourself is to equip yourself with the latest breakthroughs in the industry from modern cybersecurity startups with modern solutions.”

Max had the opportunity to interview our CEO, Shridhar Mittal, and asked him about the current state of mobile security, challenges in securing mobile endpoints compared to traditional employee laptops, and what makes Zimperium so unique.

To watch the full interview:
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What’s the current state of mobile security looking like?

Shridhar brought up several salient points, including:

Almost every company in the world is encouraging a “Work anytime from anywhere” culture. To be able to put this in action the companies have to provide more access to corporate data to their employees’ mobile devices – whether they are phones or tablets.
This is adding a completely new threat vector to the company that they have never experienced before.
The challenge is employees are the administrator on these mobile devices – they control when to update the operating system, they download all kinds of apps on their devices, are connecting to public Wi-Fi networks and worst of all – clicking on all kinds of links which could lead to them getting phished.
Luckily, CISOs are recognizing the fact that these mobile devices have to be regarded with the same seriousness as traditional endpoints like PCs and Macs.
This has led to mobile security becoming a top five initiative for most CISOs and has become a huge growth market for us.
This is getting further accelerated as the security world moves towards a zero trust model.

What further challenges does securing mobile endpoints bring in comparison to securing, say, employee laptops?

The biggest one is privacy. Most employees use their mobile devices for not just business purposes but also for personal activities like reading news, following sports, social media, messaging with friends and family. They really don’t want their employers to be tracking everything that they are doing on those devices.
Therefore any mobile security solution should be able to secure the devices without violating the employee’s privacy or the company’s privacy policy.
The detections should be done locally on the device without streaming personal information to the cloud for analysis.
Now couple that with the fact that these devices impose additional constraints on any security solution – closed operating system, limited computing power, smaller batteries, limited visibility to other apps running on these devices. This is a very hard problem to solve.
You cannot take the same approach that has worked on traditional endpoints and be successful on mobile devices.
This is why the US DOD selected the Zimperium solution after an extensive evaluation process.

Zimperium’s offering is already one of a kind, but could you tell us more about what makes this company unique?

As you said our product is definitely our biggest differentiator. The fact that we can secure mobile devices from all kinds of attacks and do it without violating privacy is unique in our industry.
However, there are two other aspects that I am quite proud of:
One – we know that we are just one part of a large security ecosystem in most companies. Our engineering team has done a fantastic job of creating an open solution with out of the box integrations to most industry leading solutions that we touch – MDMs, SIEM, XDR, zero-trust, etc.
Second, is our approach towards customer success. We understand that getting value out of a mobile security solution is not just a technical implementation – which could be done in a matter of days. It is a journey to help customers start with basics and then lead them stepwise through a maturity model that culminates in getting a large amount of value at the end of the journey. That is why our adoption rates and retention rates are industry leading.

Learn more

To learn more on how Zimperium can help protect your enterprise, contact us.

Zimperium Impresses; Named Top Cybersecurity Startup for 2021

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Jan 29 2021

January 2021: Top Campaigns

January 2021 was one of the hottest Januarys on record, literally and figuratively, so it’s no surprise that our latest batch of top campaigns is cooked and ready to chew on a few days early. Our top earners for January reflect a world back on lockdown and raring for this wild ride to be over: a compact gaming console takes the top spot; a unique camera lens gives photography enthusiasts something to focus on; and a pandemic-friendly pair of glasses block the glare while helping to block the virus.

Here are Indiegogo’s top campaigns for January 2021:

1. GPD WIN3 Gaming Console

$2,362,893 USD raised
2,535 backers
Shenzhen, China

What do you get when you pack gaming laptop firepower into a handheld gaming console? The GPD WIN3, of course, and its “candy bar” design has produced some stellar results on Indiegogo in January.

The GPD WIN3 is the latest development in GPD’s successful line of handheld gaming consoles, known for its top-level processors, ergonomic gamepads, and lightning-fast performance.

Gaming’s not your thing? Just plug the GPD WIN3 into a standard monitor, run PowerPoint, Excel, or Chrome, and get to work. This handful of computing power packs quite the punch.

GPD’s latest iteration, the WIN3, has raised over $2 million in the last few weeks and shows no signs of slowing down.

2. SIRUI 24mm Anamorphic Lens

$1,601,7673 USD raised
1,847 backers
Verona, New Jersey

A typical anamorphic lens costs several thousand dollars, and some even reach into five-figure territory. SIRUI is changing that with the market’s first compact, affordable 24mm anamorphic lens.

For those unfamiliar with anamorphic lenses, these unique pieces of equpiment provide wide, cinematic shots and dramatic lens flares by squeezing the image by 1.33x then unsqueezing it during post-production. SIRUI already revolutionized the market with their 50mm and 35mm anamorphic lenses in 2020, and SIRUI’s new 24mm anamorphic lens packs similar specs into an even more compact unit.

The SIRUI 24mm lens has already raised $1.6 million, and it’s poised to truly transform the anamorphic photography and cinematography game.

3. ElecHive Portable & Universal Super Power Station

$2,349,223 USD raised
2,077 backers
San Diego, California

Gas generators are expensive, loud, and bad for the environment. Electric power stations, on the other hand, not so much. The ElecHive Portable Power Station is leading the charge in the electric power station world, and thanks to its patented Pure Sine Wave technology, the ElecHive puts out 2,200W of continuous power — enough to power a mitre saw for two hours, an A/C unit for 12 hours, or a Dometic fridge for up to 2 weeks. The best part? All this heavy-duty power packs into a box slightly larger than a basketball. With those kinds of specs, we think it’s a slam dunk.

4. BeYou Chair

$2,389,298 USD raised
6,462 backers
New Castle, Delaware

The pandemic, perhaps more than anything, has meant a whole lot of sitting around. But what if you found out you were doing it wrong?

Your posture in a conventional chair is severely restricted, typically limited to a slight change in height and maybe some swivel action. The team at BeYou, however, have designed a chair that makes it easy to let your body, not the chair, determine how you sit, so you can finally relax comfortably in nearly any position.

With the BeYou, all you have to do is listen to your body. Simply adjust and in only a few seconds, the possibilities are endless. Sit as you would in a normal chair, rotate the back to create laptop rest, or even fold the wings to create a de facto chaise lounge for a quick nap.

With BeYou, you can enjoy the benefits of movement even when you’re sitting.

5. Stoggles Eyewear

$2,789,387 USD raised
56,595 backers
Los Angeles, California

We spend so much energy worrying about our masks, but what about our eyes? True, most infections spread via the nose and mouth, but the eye can also act as a back door to bacterial and viral infections, especially when you’re in the habit of touching your face.

Stoggles offer similar eye protection to full goggles but with style. They’re a new kind of eyewear designed to protect your eyes from dirty fingers and airborne droplets. Boasting a protective blue light filter for long days in front of the computer and an anti-fog coating for compatibility with masks, Stoggles are easy to wear wherever you go. They’re also Rx-friendly, so you can put your corrective lenses in the frames if your vision isn’t quite 20/20.

The Stoggles campaign has raised nearly $3 million, so keep your eyes peeled for this one-of-a-kind campaign!

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Interested in exploring more campaigns? Check out our team favorites.

Rankings, amount raised, and other stats are current as of 01/29/21.

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Jan 25 2021

Network File-Sharing Service Suffers Cryptojacking Attack

QNAP Inc., a company specializing in building file-sharing and storage management applications, has warned users about an ongoing crypto mining attack on its network-attached devices. According to a recent Bleeping Computer report, the attack is essentially a cryptojacking operation, forcing connected devices to mine Bitcoin.

Blaming Weak Passwords

A Taiwanese company, QNAP Systems is a giant in the file storage and memory devices space. The company provides a backup hub for storing files, essentially operating as a hard drive that users can access anywhere and anytime.

As Bleeping Computer reported, security experts have named the malware installed on connected devices as “Dovecat.” They explained that it had been affecting computer systems since November 2020, and QNAP appears to have been its most prominent target. With access to thousands of connected devices, the malware can get a massive amount of processing power for its mining operation.

QNAP explained to the news source that customers’ weak passwords were to blame for the malware intrusion. The company has asked that users replace weak passwords with stronger ones while installing malware blockers and updating their network-attached devices.

Will 2021 Continue Where 2020 Left Off?

Cryptojacking has been one of the most famous malware variants for the past year. With more people and companies requiring effective internet connection and support, hackers have had a vast network of victims to take advantage of.

Last June, Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reported that Singapore alone had seen a significant spike in the number of cryptojacking cases in the first quarter of the year. Per the report, January to March 2020 saw 11,700 cryptojacking complaints from the country – up from 2,900 in the first three months of the previous year.

Mexico saw a similar trend, where local news source El Economista confirmed that more individuals and firms had fallen victim to crimes like cryptojacking and ransomware attacks than ever before.

The report explained that several companies had complained about unknown entities accessing their cloud computing systems and using them for cryptocurrency mining. However, a cybersecurity expert also told the news medium that many of the firms don’t seem to know much about cloud security, to begin with.

Network File-Sharing Service Suffers Cryptojacking Attack

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Jan 15 2021

Bitcoin vs. Altcoins: A Lopsided Battle

Investors often ask me why I focus so much on bitcoin instead of altcoins.

I get why people ask this question. Bitcoin is already huge. And many investors assume they’ve already missed the boat, so they want to find the next bitcoin.

Here’s the thing. Most people still don’t realize just how far ahead bitcoin is in this race. Bitcoin was built to serve as an alternative financial system. It is already fulfilling this purpose.

People around the world buy bitcoin as a hedge against inflation and reckless monetary policy. In Venezuela, where hyperinflation runs rampant, bitcoin has become a major part of the economy. Many citizens choose to store their savings in bitcoin rather than the bolivar. And they only convert bitcoin to bolivars when they need to buy something.

The map below, which is part of an excellent piece of research by Coindesk, shows volume on peer-to-peer bitcoin trading platform LocalBitcoins compared to GDP (the larger the bubble, the more peer-to-peer trading volume, adjusted for size of the overall economy).

As you can see, Venezuela leads the world in peer-to-peer bitcoin trading volume (adjusted for GDP). It’s no coincidence that the country also has the highest inflation rate.

And if you haven’t read the 2019 New York Times article “Bitcoin Has Saved My Family” yet, I recommend it. Here’s an excerpt:

I keep all of my money in Bitcoin. Keeping it in bolívars would be financial suicide: The last time I checked, the rate of daily inflation was around 3.5 percent.

So bitcoin’s usefulness is not hypothetical. It’s very real.

Now let’s briefly talk about liquidity. Bitcoin is by far the most liquid cryptocurrency around the world. In almost every country, you can convert bitcoin into local currency through either official exchanges or peer-to-peer platforms. Its impressive trading volume is what makes institutional buying possible (more on that here).

And when it comes to security, the bitcoin network also stands apart. No other coin has nearly as much computing power securing it. Some estimate that the Bitcoin network currently uses around .21% of the world’s electricity. Yes, that’s a lot. But securing a decentralized financial system is no small task.

Bitcoin is also far more decentralized than 99% of altcoin projects. There are hundreds of thousands of mining machines and nodes operating around the world. There’s no central authority controlling the supply. I believe this will become increasingly important as the market digests the SEC’s recent actions against Ripple (XRP).

Altcoins: (Mostly) Unrealized Potential, For Now

Altcoins, meanwhile, are still speculative investments without much real world utility. There’s nothing wrong with that — but we should recognize it. None comes close to bitcoin in terms of fulfilling their stated purpose.

Ethereum — the second largest crypto — does have a fair amount of real world utility. The Ethereum network has serious potential to provide decentralized finance (DeFi) applications in the future. But today, it’s still mostly used to facilitate the creation of and investment in other coins/tokens.

Eventually, whether it’s in five years or 30, it’s likely that some new coin will come and give bitcoin a real run for its money. But I don’t expect it to happen any time soon. I see bitcoin continuing to build on its lead in liquidity, utility, security and infrastructure for years to come.

To be clear, I’m not saying altcoins aren’t worth researching and investing in. There’s certainly money to be made in altcoins in this environment. And some altcoins will inevitably outperform BTC for periods. But there’s a heck of a lot more risk with alts. When bitcoin “crashes,” altcoins often go down 2x as much, or more.

Bitcoin should form the core of any crypto portfolio. It’s the most likely, by far, to see continued upward momentum. It’s the only crypto I see as a true inflation hedge. If you want to add in some high quality altcoins, great. Just be careful, do your research and limit your position sizing.

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Jan 08 2021

DeFi integration and layer-2 tech back Matic Network’s (MATIC) 92% rally

The exponential growth of the decentralized finance sector increased activity on the Ethereum blockchain, and this has resulted in slow transaction times and incredibly high fees.

In the last month, Ether (ETH) price has also rallied more than 100%, and gas fees are on the rise again as demand for ETH and a resurgence in the DeFi sector accelerates.

Matic Network intends to solve the DeFi and decentralized applications scalability problem by using layer-two technology for off-chain computing.

Multiple sidechains can be used simultaneously, and each is secured by a group of validators via its proof-of-stake system. The results are then pushed to the Ethereum network, creating checkpoints.

The project aims to become blockchain agnostic, which would allow for interoperable assets in the future. Currently, the Matic Network is ERC-20-based and its MATIC token has a $156 million market capitalization.

Backed by Coinbase Ventures and Binance Launchpad, the project raised $5.6 billion during its initial exchange offering in April 2019. A number of notable projects have already integrated Matic Network’s infrastructure, including Decentraland and Maker.

Since Jan. 1, MATIC has rallied 92%, but the token is still 23% below its Dec. 2019 all-time-high at $0.44.

*MATIC/USDT 4-hour chart. Source: TradingView*

Matic Network initiated deposits and withdrawals on its mainnet on June 20, 2020, and a few days later, it began offering staking capabilities. Tokenholders were then able to delegate their staking to validators and share revenue.

On Sep. 10, 2020, Matic released its proof-of-stake token bridge, allowing faster transfers between the Ethereum and Matic networks.

Since August 2020, Matic’s BEPSwap decentralized exchange has been running on a beta version, and its liquidity has dropped about 25% from it’s $40 million peak.

In September 2020, Matic Network launched its final staking phase by adding community-run validator nodes while increasing slots to 100. The team intends to gradually shut down all Matic Foundation nodes, allowing the community to choose from public validators.

DeFi and altcoin season appears to be pushing MATIC higher

Over the last few weeks, a handful of projects have chosen to launch on Matic Network, including the game SkyWeaver, Aavegotchi Crypto Collectibles, the collectible game Drakon IOI and Fire Protocol OS.

Furthermore, on Jan. 6, the MATIC token listed on Huobi Global and offered an $80 premium to new users who onboarded with full Know Your Customer verification.

*Matic Twitter user activity vs. price (USD). Source:* *The Tie*

Data from The Tie shows that the recent price spike has been accompanied by a considerable increase in social network activity, but it’s difficult to determine whether the uptick in Twitter users is the primary driver behind MATIC’s price action.

The views and opinions expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cointelegraph. Every investment and trading move involves risk. You should conduct your own research when making a decision.

DeFi integration and layer-2 tech back Matic Network’s (MATIC) 92% rally

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