Leading market research and data analytics firm Nielsen has been unable to provide overnight ratings this week for Australian TV viewers as a result of a ransomware attack. The TV ratings were not available on Tuesday and Wednesday night, and local TV blog TV Tonight reports industry sources as saying the overnight ratings may not be available again until early next week. Nielsen said viewing data is still being collected and will be published once the attack is resolved. “We will be sure to keep the industry informed as new information on the matter becomes available,” the spokesperson added. Nielsen …

Coinsquare’s CEO Cole Diamond and President Virgile Rostand will step down and pay a $1.6 million fine as part of an agreement with Canadian regulator the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC). According to an announcement from the OSC following a July 21 hearing, Diamond and Rostand have agreed to resign from their positions at the cryptocurrency exchange and will pay around $750,000 and $670,000 in penalties, respectively. Coinsquare and the disgraced duo will also shoulder $223,000 in costs for the investigation. The Canadian regulator said Diamond and Rostand are effectively banned from resuming management of Coinsquare for at least three years …

Canadian regulator Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) has accused embattled exchange Coinsquare of market manipulation and misleading clients about trading volumes. The OSC alleged Coinsquare, which has been accused of wash-trading and reports of a hack, had “engaged in conduct contrary to Ontario security laws.” The regulator also named founder Virgile Rostand, CEO Cole Diamond and chief compliance officer Felix Mazer as respondents. A hearing regarding the case will be held on July 21. In its complaint, the OSC said Diamond directed Rostand to inflate trading numbers in March 2018. Rostand then came up with a solution that allowed the exchange …

Canada-based fintech firm BlockCrushr has filed a lawsuit in New York accusing blockchain tech company ConsenSys of stealing trade secrets. BlockCrushr claims that ConsenSys launched an Ether (ETH)-based recurring payments platform called ‘Daisy Payments’ one day before the Canadian firm launched its own product. BlockCrushr was a participant in the Consensys Tachyon Accelerator program and accuses the elder firm of posing as an advocate and mentor before replicating the startup’s proprietary technology. “Defendants launched Daisy Payments by leveraging the trade secrets Burke and Redden disclosed during the Tachyon accelerator program,” the complaint asserts. BlockCrushr participates in accelerator The complaint asserts …

Digital asset data firm Brave New Coin (BNC) has inked a multi-year deal with the Toronto Futures Options Swaps Exchange (tFOSE) to power its crypto options trading. BNC’s data will enable the new Canadian derivatives exchange and clearinghouse to offer cash-settled crypto derivatives to global clients. The partnership will see BNC “design, calculate, and administer a suite of cryptocurrency indices to power cash-settled options trading on tFOSE.” 2021 launch for crypto options James Beattie, the president and chief executive of tFOSE, stated that BNC was chosen after the exchange conducted extensive research into crypto market data providers. “Brave New Coin …

A digital Canadian dollar should imitate traditional banknotes in terms of availability and accessibility, according to staff from the country's central bank, the Bank of Canada. In an analytical note on June 30, experts from the Bank of Canada revealed some of the goals for its central bank digital currency (CBDC). Analytical notes are a product of staff and analysts at the bank, separate from the Governing Council, so they do not necessarily represent the opinion of the bank itself. The group of experts explained that the CBDC should imitate the features of regular bank notes. This means it must …

A new ransomware called CryCryptor is targeting Canadian Android users. It is distributed via multiple websites that pose as portals for a government-backed COVID-19 tracing app. According to research published by ESET on June 24, CryCryptor appeared shortly after Canada's government announced a COVID-19 tracing app that utilizes voluntary information submitted by citizens. Source: ESET Once the victim installs the fake app, the ransomware encrypts all files, leaving a "readme" note with the attacker's email instead of locking the device. For this particular attack, ransom instructions appear to only be distributed via email. An open source ransomware The ransomware’s code …

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, in Burnaby, a district of Vancouver in British Columbia, reported a surge of Bitcoin (BTC) related scams across the city. This news comes amid recent reports of similar activity occurring across Canada. Authorities say scammers call their victim and impersonate a member of the RCMP. The scammer then falsely states that the police have an arrest warrant for the victim related to fraudulent activity. Different phone numbers used in the scam’s calls Multiple phone numbers are used in these attacks. Victims often receive multiple calls from different numbers, and are told that if …

An alleged Bitcoin (BTC) scam is now reportedly targeting residents of Winnipeg, Canada. A local grocery store owner warned that many of his customers were victims of the scammers. According to Global News, Husni Zeid placed a large sign on the Bitcoin machine he has in his store, asking people to exercise caution with regard to phone scams that ask for fake Bitcoin investments. Zeid told the local media outlets: "A lot of people are getting phone calls saying that they have to transfer the money to Bitcoin regarding CRA; we've had Manitoba Hydro as well." Multiple complaints He stressed …

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, or RCMP, is investigating two Bitcoin (BTC) scams in Strathcona County in Alberta, Canada. They allege that fraudsters impersonated the local authorities in order to extort their victims for money. According to The Sherwood Park News on June 16, one of the victims received a call by a person that claimed to be from the Canada Revenue Agency, or CRA. The other victim said that the scammer stated he was an RCMP officer. Depositing money into a Bitcoin machine The authority’s report states that both unidentified residents of Alberta’s county were asked to withdraw cash …

Ransomware group REvil has launched another series of attacks targeting three companies in the U.S. and Canada. As of press time, they have leaked data from two of the companies, and threatened to disclose sensitive data from the third. The companies are well-known Canadian accounting firm, Goodman Mintz LLP, licensed real estate broker Strategic Sites LLC, and ZEGG Hotels & Store, a duty-free store. First target of the week: an accounting company The gang kicked-off the week by leaking sensitive data from the Canada-based accounting company, Goodman Mintz LLP. The leak included company files, accounting and working documents of clients, …

In the post-pandemic world, individuals will need to seize ownership and control of their educational credentials — documents like degrees and transcripts — from schools, universities and governments. That notion received key support last week from the American Council on Education in a study funded by the United States Department of Education focusing on the use of blockchain in higher education. “Blockchain, in particular, holds promise to create more efficient, durable connections between education and work,” wrote Ted Mitchell, the president of ACE, in the foreword to the study published on June 8, adding: “In the wake of the COVID-19 …