BLOCKADE: The formal code for Sia's upcoming hard fork has been released, setting the stage to pit the network against rival makers of special-purpose mining hardware.
In an announcement on sia's official channel on Discord, David Vorick, the founder and CEO of Nebulous, stated that the network plans to block the mining hardware of all major manufacturers, like Bitmain, thereby forcing miners to utilize products designed by its subsidiary, Obelisk.
The network fork is set for October 31st and will also include new code for resisting Sybil attacks, wherein alternate identities (nodes) are created to exploit a network. The post mentioned that the security update will also handle "other methods that could be used to manipulate a host unfairly into the top ranks." Full Story
HACK DATA: The North Korean hacking group, dubbed Lazarus, is responsible for the theft of over $500 million in cryptocurrencies, according to a new report.
Research from Group-IB has linked the hacking group to over 14 hacks since January 2017.
The cybersecurity report stated that, more broadly, $882 million in cryptocurrency was stolen from exchanges from 2017 to 2018, and the security firm warned that the number of hacks is likely to increase with the entry of traditional financial institutions. Full Story
SEC HUB: On Thursday, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced a new division that aims to shore up communication between the agency's officials and fintech firms, including ICO and token startups.
The division, called the Strategic Hub for Innovation and Financial Technology (FinHub), seeks to help such companies navigate the legal implications of their products by clarifying any and all questions they may have.
The group will be headed by the SEC's senior advisor for digital assets and innovation, Valerie Szczepanik, with the rest of the staff beng pulled from SEC offices that have experience with fintech-related issues. Full Story | 
