Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%
Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.
Robbing a Locked Bank Vault from Home: Legal Issues Raised by Cryptocurrency Frauds
The number of individuals and businesses holding or using cryptocurrencies is expected to reach 200 million by 2024. The advent of cryptocurrencies has raised a host of legal issues; some of the most immediate ones — such as whether cryptocurrencies are securities — appear to have been resolved, but cryptocurrency theft remains a major concern for traders and investors given that billions of dollars of cryptocurrency are stolen every year. These cutting-edge problems intersect in interesting ways with companies' existing fraud and anti-money laundering concerns, but it all starts with the cryptocurrency “wallet.”
A cryptocurrency wallet stores the cryptographic keys (both public and private) that one uses to access and spend cryptocurrencies. Each wallet can contain multiple keys as well as independent cryptographic software or a mnemonic device for memorizing the cryptographic keys. It is important to note that crypto wallets themselves are generally not a part of a given cryptocurrency's technology. Therefore, the wallet can be dispiritingly similar to an in-real-life (“IRL”) wallet, whose currency and credit/debit card contents are only as secure as we keep the wallet itself.
A Cryptocurrency Theft Primer
Cryptocurrency theft frustrates technology in several ways. Thieves appear to adhere to Sutton's Law because most of the documented attacks target “where the money is”: the crypto wallet itself.
The most common manner of losing control of your crypto wallet is to lose operational security of your smartphone and the cryptographic keys stored on it. One way this occurs is when users unknowingly download malware from an app store. For example, traders at Poloniex, an American cryptocurrency exchange, downloaded Android mobile applications hackers had posted on Google Play. These apps falsely purported to provide a mobile gateway to the crypto exchange Poloniex had established for Bitcoin and Monero markets. The traders inputted their information into the app, including their cryptographic keys, which put thousands of Poloniex traders' infected wallets at risk.
This premium content is locked for Entertainment Law & Finance subscribers only
ENJOY UNLIMITED ACCESS TO THE SINGLE SOURCE OF OBJECTIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS, PRACTICAL INSIGHTS, AND NEWS IN ENTERTAINMENT LAW.
- Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
- Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
- Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts
Already a have an account? Sign In Now Log In Now
For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473
Major Differences In UK, U.S. Copyright Laws
This article highlights how copyright law in the United Kingdom differs from U.S. copyright law, and points out differences that may be crucial to entertainment and media businesses familiar with U.S law that are interested in operating in the United Kingdom or under UK law. The article also briefly addresses contrasts in UK and U.S. trademark law.
The Article 8 Opt In
The Article 8 opt-in election adds an additional layer of complexity to the already labyrinthine rules governing perfection of security interests under the UCC. A lender that is unaware of the nuances created by the opt in (may find its security interest vulnerable to being primed by another party that has taken steps to perfect in a superior manner under the circumstances.
Strategy vs. Tactics: Two Sides of a Difficult Coin
With each successive large-scale cyber attack, it is slowly becoming clear that ransomware attacks are targeting the critical infrastructure of the most powerful country on the planet. Understanding the strategy, and tactics of our opponents, as well as the strategy and the tactics we implement as a response are vital to victory.
Legal Possession: What Does It Mean?
Possession of real property is a matter of physical fact. Having the right or legal entitlement to possession is not "possession," possession is "the fact of having or holding property in one's power." That power means having physical dominion and control over the property.
The Stranger to the Deed Rule
In 1987, a unanimous Court of Appeals reaffirmed the vitality of the "stranger to the deed" rule, which holds that if a grantor executes a deed to a grantee purporting to create an easement in a third party, the easement is invalid. Daniello v. Wagner, decided by the Second Department on November 29th, makes it clear that not all grantors (or their lawyers) have received the Court of Appeals' message, suggesting that the rule needs re-examination.