Tag Archive for: raised

Internet Computer blockchain has raised $80M | Dfinity Foundation

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The Internet Computer Protocol is an ambitious blockchain project aimed at creating a world computer, and according to a new report from the shepherding nonprofit Dfinity Foundation, it has raised more than $80 million to date.

The Internet Computer Protocol (ICP) realizes the vision of a World Computer – an open and secure blockchain-based network that can host programs and data in the form of smart contracts, perform computations on smart contracts in a secure and trustworthy way, and scale infinitely.

Competing and coexisting with other blockchains like Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana, the ICP has evolved into one of the first Bitcoin Layer-2s, with over $67 million in ckBTC (chain-key Bitcoin) transactions and 300-plus developers crafting Bitcoin-enabled decentralized apps (dApps).

“The ICP community has made tremendous strides this past year, from expanding the ICP Hubs Network globally to integrating Bitcoin at the protocol level directly on-chain to allow cryptocurrency to be used in everyday applications.” said Lomesh Dutta, vice president of growth at Dfinity Foundation. “The success of the SNS framework has been a big win for decentralized governance worldwide, and through its innovative tech stack and multiple network integrations, the ICP is unlocking access to a seamless, trustless multichain future for Web3.”

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Dfinity Foundation role

Activity on the ICP blockchain.

I spoke with Dutta about the significance of the report.

As vice president of growth at the Dfinity Foundation, Dutta’s team is the one responsible to essentially help all the teams that are building on…

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Security concerns raised over internet voting for Michigan military spouses

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Because of an editing error, this story has been corrected. House Bill 4210 would expand electronic ballot return for deployed military members to their spouses and voting-age dependents.

In Michigan’s quest to make voting more accessible in recent years, it has enacted automatic voter registration, excuse-free absentee voting and an upcoming early in-person voting period.

But the latest proposal worries some of the same election security experts who have praised the changes and worked with Democrats in charge: returning ballots over the internet.

The idea is “well intentioned” but could “seriously undermine the security of Michigan’s elections,” said J. Alex Halderman, a University of Michigan professor and nationally recognized cybersecurity expert.

Halderman and other experts warned House elections committee lawmakers Tuesday in a hearing on House Bill 4210. It would expand electronic ballot return for deployed military members, allowed by legislation that passed last year and will be implemented in 2024, to their spouses and voting-age dependents.

“The bedrock of Michigan elections has long been the simple fact that every vote is cast on a piece of paper which can’t later be changed in any kind of cyber attack,” said Halderman, who was appointed by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson to co-chair an election security commission for 2020.

Related: Michigan National Guard nets $26M for women-focused facility upgrades

But Benson argues Michigan can maintain its election integrity by continuing conversations with national cybersecurity professionals and federal agencies, and by following the lead of the 31 other states that have implemented this.

“We’re exploring a hybrid model that would be custom-built for Michigan and still require the voter overseas to print and sign their ballot before scanning and returning it,” said Benson, who once lived on a military base with her husband.

Similar to how Colorado does it, she explained, the local clerk would print what is returned and run it through the tabulator, creating an auditable paper trail. Voters would also be encouraged to mail a follow-up hard copy of their ballot.

She added that this electronic voting portal is…

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Hack the Bank: how cybersecurity startup Hack the Box raised £45m in a recession

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Pylarinos attributes this to the company’s humble, bootstrapped beginnings. Despite having now successfully completed three funding rounds (raising a total of $70m) starting out with just a small amount of savings has meant the founders have prioritised profitability since the firm first began operating three years ago.

“We’ve always been very cost-efficient,” he reveals. “Even after our first two financing rounds, we didn’t spend any of the capital. In the current market, this gives you more points than it used to.”

The last profitable tech company

After a string of high-profile startup failures like Pakistan’s top startup Airlift last year, which previously boasted a huge valuation of $270m, it only holds that investors will recoup their losses by prioritising ‘money in the bank’ over expansion. Pylarinos concurs with this theory.

“[This year] was much harder than previous fundraisers that we did in the past,” he admits. “But there was interest because we were never this traditional startup that burns massive amounts of capital or relies on the next fundraiser to endure.”

So, when crafting a business plan, think cautiously before you emphasise growth over survival. For those of us who are used to reading about tech startups like Uber – which, despite being worth over $50bn, didn’t turn a profit until 2021 – that might be a foreign idea.

“Only a few years back, if you were a company that was not spending capital, that translated as [proof] you are not growing fast enough,” acknowledges Pylarinos. “Yet, we were growing fast enough, and spending less capital.

“With the current market conditions, I think we’re in a perfect spot. The risk of going bust in such conditions where capital is not granted, is much larger.”

Hack the Box team photo

That theory has been proved this week with a string of high-profile tech layoffs including Spotify. The Swedish music-streaming giant announced it would cut 6% of its 10,000 employees on Monday. The company has never turned a full-year net profit.

It sounds like the company could learn a thing or two from Hack the Box. Writing on the company’s blog, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek said, “in hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of…

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‘It was only a matter of time’ – Suffolk County clerk says she raised concerns before massive hack

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Dec 04, 2022, 5:44pmUpdated 4h ago

By: News 12 Staff

A special bipartisan
committee will hold hearings “probing the cause and response” of the ransomware
attack that stole the personal information of as many as 470,000 Suffolk County
residents.

Suffolk County Clerk Judith Pascale told News 12 that she warned Suffolk County officials in January
that a cyberattack could happen. She brought her concerns to the Ways and Means
Committee and asked them to install more computer security and more substantial
firewall protection. She says the firewall protection in place during the
attack wasn’t enough for a government entity.

“It was only a
matter of time. And that’s why we should have taken the precautions,” said
Pascale. “…People looked at me like I was crazy…I said ‘when this
happens, it’s going to be devastating.’”

A county IT expert who
asked not to be named told News 12 it took about five hours to shut down
more than 600 servers during the Sept. 8 hack.

A county spokesperson
told News 12 that the county took aggressive measures on Sept. 8 to contain the
cyberattack and that the county hired a leading forensic team to determine what
happened.       

Presiding Officer Kevin
McCaffrey is expected to make the announcement of the committee formation and
its members during a news conference Monday morning. It will be chaired by
Legislator Anthony Piccirillo and will have subpoena powers for testimony.

According to a release:

“The committee will
review how tax dollars were used to protect the county’s information, the
response to the attack, the steps taken to protect residents whose personal
information was compromised and what is being done to prevent future attacks.”

The attack occurred on
Sept. 8. The county has admitted that “the personal information of as many as
470,000 residents and 26,000 past and current employees has been stolen by the
hackers.”

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