Latest cybersecurity reporting from selected sources.

Also: ZachXBT Uncovers DPRK Worker Scam, Hyperbridge Hack, Coinone FineThis week, Operation Atlantic disrupts $45M phishing fraud, ZachXBT uncovers DPRK crypto worker scheme, Hyperbridge exploit, South Korea fines Coinone $3.5M, Kraken faces extortion attempt over insider data leak and American musician loses $420K in fake Ledger app.

Also: Samourai Wallet Founder Sentenced, $128M Balancer Hack Post-MortemThis week, "Bitcoin Queen" sentenced, as was Samourai Wallet co-founder Keonne Rodriguez, Balancer hack post-mortem, Coinbase's 21 million euro fine, mistrial in $25 Million Ethereum exploit case. Spanish authorities detained a crypto influencer and accused the United States of a crypto heist.

Also: Astra Nova RVV Token Plummets, Canada Fines Cryptomus $126MThis week, U.S. President Donald Trump pardoned Changpeng Zhao, Astra Nova RVV token plummeted, an investor lost $3M in a wallet breach linked to Huione Group, Canada fined Cryptomus, a U.K. regulator sued HTX over illegal crypto promotions and hacked LuBian wallets moved $1.8B in bitcoin.

Criminals don’t need to be clever all the time; they just follow the easiest path in: trick users, exploit stale components, or abuse trusted systems like OAuth and package registries. If your stack or habits make any of those easy, you’re already a target

Financial regulators in Canada this week levied $176 million in fines against Cryptomus, a digital payments platform that supports dozens of Russian cryptocurrency exchanges and websites hawking cybercrime services. The penalties for violating Canada's anti money-laundering laws come ten months after KrebsOnSecurity noted that Cryptomus's Vancouver street address was home to dozens of foreign currency dealers, money transfer businesses, and cryptocurrency exchanges — none of which were physically located there.

Also: Texas Brothers Charged in $8M Crypto-Linked Kidnapping CaseThis week, Brian Quintenz won't lead the U.S. CFTC, Canada fined KuCoin $14M, Texas brothers charged in an $8M kidnapping case, South Korean actor given suspended sentence for embezzlement, phishing campaign used robots.txt and an ex-LASD deputy pleaded guilty in a business extortion scam.

The threat actors known as Golden Chickens have been attributed to two new malware families dubbed TerraStealerV2 and TerraLogger, suggesting continued development efforts to fine-tune and diversify their arsenal

Also: A $40M Block Penalty, US SEC Guidance on Crypto LawsThis week, a KiloEx exploit, Block fined $40M, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission guidance on crypto laws, Senate Democrats slammed NCET disbandment, $4.3M scam disrupted, guilty plea in $3.3M tax evasion and a South Korea ban on crypto apps.

Also: US Govt Seeks Return of Hack Funds to Bitfinex; Mango Markets ShutsThis week, BitMEX fined $100M, prosecutors sought return of Bitfinex funds, Mango Markets shut, a Web3 attack method; pastor charged in crypto scam, CFPB proposed firms refund hack victims, 2024 crime stats, Wolf Capital co-founder's guilty plea, Thai Bitcoin miners seized and a New York AG lawsuit.

Also, Australian Fines Kraken AU$8 million Over BreachesThis week, scammers targeted crypto workers with fake meeting apps, Australia fined Kraken crypto exchange operator Bit Trade and a Los Angeles federal court ordered five individuals to pay $5 million. Polish police detained a Russian former exchange operator and FTX debtors clawed back more cash.

Also: Bitfinex Launderer Razzlekhan Gets 18-Month SentenceThis week, sentences in FTX, Bitfinex and Helix cases, a $25.5M Thala hack, the WazirX hack and South Korea probed UpBit. U.S. lawmakers want a crackdown on Tornado. U.S. Prosecutors may scale back crypto cases. BIT Mining fined $10M and the Chinese Communist Party expelled a key blockchain figure

Also: Reimbursements in Banana Gun Hack; Germany Shutters 47 ExchangesThis week, BingX, Truflation, OpenAI X account hacked; Germany shut 47 exchanges; Caroline Ellison sentenced; two got crypto theft charges; one got crypto scam fine; Banana Gun will refund victims; WazirX, Liminal in dispute; SEC settled with TrueCoin, TrustToken; CFTC may settle with Mango Markets.

Also: $5M for Info on the Crypto Queen; Attacks on BtcTurk and CoinStatsThis week, crypto stealer convicted, reward for info on Crypto Queen increased, BtcTurk and CoinStats suffered cyberattacks, Lazarus blamed for Alex Lab hack, Nigeria refuted allegations of ill treatment, sentencing in Hydrogen Technology case, Binance fined in India, and FBI warned of crypto scams.

An Indian national has pleaded guilty in the U.S. over charges of stealing more than $37 million by setting up a website that impersonated the Coinbase cryptocurrency exchange platform

Also: Mandiant X Account Hijacked in Cryptocurrency ScamThis week, hackers took over Mandiant's X account, authorities charged a Nigerian hacker with stealing $7.5 million from charities, the DOJ fined XCast $10 million for illegal robocalls, and attackers exploited an SMTP smuggling flaw in a phishing email campaign.

Chief quits, pays own penalty after helping crooks launder cash, aiding sanctions evaders The world's largest cryptocurrency exchange just got a little smaller, with the US Department of Justice announcing Binance and its CEO Changpeng Zhao have both pleaded guilty to a multitude of financial crimes. As a result Binance will fork out $10 billion to Uncle Sam in fines and settlements.…

World's Largest Cryptocurrency Exchange Will Pay $4.3 BillionBinance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao will plead guilty to violating anti-money laundering statutes in U.S. federal court in a settlement ending an investigation into illicit transactions at the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The company will pay $4.3 billion in fines and forfeiture.

Titan Global Capital Management to pay $1m to those it advised without admitting fault A New York fintech biz is set to pay $1 million in fines under a US Securities and Exchange Commission order that claims it advertised "annualized" returns on Titan Crypto of up to 2,700 percent, a number based on a "purely hypothetical account."…

Exec faces fraud charges, one regulator wants $5 billion fine Alex Mashinsky, the now-former CEO of collapsed cryptocurrency concern Celsius, today faces charges of fraud as prosecutors and watchdogs pile in.…

Didn't disclose payments as mastermind pumped up value of tokens with fake trades Eight very B-list celebrities have agreed to cough up fines after being accused of shilling a cryptocurrency without disclosing they were paid to do so, while the chap who paid them has been charged with fraud.…