Tag: email

Blockchain for Emails: What are the Benefits?

Since 2009, blockchain technology has been  primarily used in the issuance and maintenance of cryptocurrency, but the power of the technology have applications far beyond the crypto space. Features such as immutability, decentralized storage, transparency, and security are making blockchain popular in other fields.

According to Safepost, the use of decentralized technology in emails has yet to be fully utilized and a blockchain-based solution will solve the majority of problems that traditional email providers face.

Privacy is enhanced

The privacy of the users is always an issue when it comes to email solutions. Companies like Google will tell you that they do not share your data with 3rd parties. However, there is no guarantee that it will not happen because they have a centralized server. Some of these email solution providers will use personal data on their platforms to send you personalized ads. A decentralized email solution means that messages will be stored in shared ledgers so that no single authority is able to dictate how your data is used.

Secure platform

In 2013, Yahoo, which was of the biggest email providers at the time, suffered a security breach. The company managed 3 billion user accounts at the time. The breach affected more than 1 billion of the accounts. It was not until 2017 that Yahoo admitted that this happened. The company advised its users to change their passwords. A blockchain-based solution is more secure against such attacks. Different nodes are distributed over a network, which makes it hard to control the system. A hacker must control more than 51% of the nodes to manipulate the system which is not impossible, but a blockchain network with 3 billion accounts serving as nodes would mean that attackers would have to hack more than 1.5 billion simultaneously.  

According to a report compiled by the FBI, businesses lost about $26 billion from June 2016 to July 2019 through fraudulent emails. Confirming that an email comes from the said sender is always a challenge in the current set up. Someone can easily set up an email account with someone’s name and send messages. A blockchain-based solution is tamper-proof, which makes it easy to check the authenticity of the messages. One cannot edit timestamps or even the routing data, which makes it easy to know the sender. Tracking the sender of an email and when the email was sent through a decentralized ledger is thus possible.

Blockchain email seems to be lagging behind when compared to other applications such as banking and cryptocurrencies. The possibility to combat fraud in the business world is desirable. The assurance that there will no longer be spam emails, phishing threats, and that there will be data privacy are the strongest selling points of blockchain technology in this field.

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MetaMask Warns Investors Against Phishing Attempts by Scammers

MetaMask, a popular supplier of cryptocurrency wallets, issued a warning to investors about continuous phishing efforts. These phishing attempts are being carried out by fraudsters who are trying to contact consumers using Namecheap’s third-party upstream system for emails.

The web hosting business Namecheap discovered that one of its third-party services had been abused in the evening of February 12 for the purpose of sending some unwanted emails, which were directed specifically against users of MetaMask. “email gateway problem” was how Namecheap referred to the situation in question.

In the proactive notice, MetaMask informed its million users that it does not collect Know Your Customer (KYC) information and would never contact users through email to discuss account details. This was done to ensure that users are aware that the company does not conduct KYC checks.

Phishing emails sent out by the hacker include a link that, when clicked, takes the recipient to a bogus MetaMask website that requests a confidential recovery phrase “to keep your wallet safe.”

Investors were cautioned by the provider of the wallet not to disclose their seed words, since doing so would give an unauthorized third party entire control over the user’s cash.

NameCheap has additionally verified that its services were not compromised in any way, nor did any customer information get compromised as a result of this incident. Namecheap acknowledged that their mail delivery was restored within two hours after the original notification, and that all future notifications will now come from the official source.

On the other hand, the primary problem with the sending of unwanted emails is still being looked at at this time. When dealing with correspondence from MetaMask and Namecheap, investors are cautioned to double examine any website URLs, email addresses, and points of contact provided by the companies.

A hacker utilized Google Ad services in January to steal nonfungible tokens (NFTs) and cryptocurrencies from investors. This incident took place in January.

After inadvertently installing malicious malware that was placed in a Google advertising, the NFT influencer known as NFT God suffered “a life-changing amount” of loss.

The event took place when the influencer used the Google search engine in order to download OBS, which is open-source software for video streaming. However, he chose to click on the link that led to a sponsored advertising rather than the legitimate link, which resulted in a loss of financial resources.

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