Top Posts Tagged with #sciph

SCI To Add XRP Support To Its Blockchain Ecosystem

Since 2014, SCI has been working on building the best technology platform for Blockchain-based services in the Philippines. Using the Bitcoin Blockchain, it has provided cheaper, faster, and more accessible financial services to over 500,000 users with services like Rebit.ph, Buybitcoin.ph, Bitbit.cash, and several more.

Today, we are happy to announce that SCI will soon start supporting Ripple’s XRP across several of our services. Starting with Buybitcoin.ph, our users will be able to buy and sell XRP with Philippine Pesos fast, safe, and easy, with support on Rebit.ph for remittances and Bitbit.cash for mobile money to follow in future integrations.

XRP is a digital asset that has recently proven itself to have a clear use case. As established financial institutions, as well as major cryptocurrency exchanges, start to partner with Ripple and support XRP, its utility as a payment rail and settlement layer becomes more evident. Combined with its speed, low cost, and scalability, SCI believes that XRP is a valuable asset to add to its growing ecosystem of blockchain services in the Philippines and the rest of the world.

#sci #sciph #ripple #ripplephilippines

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Ransomware on the Rise Again

A big Ransomware attack that has swept the globe a few days ago has made headlines in all major media outlets.

Ransomware is a malicious program that locks a computer's files until a ransom is paid. First emerging as early as 2009, it started in Russia and Eastern Europe and spread wider and faster, especially since the advent of social media and mass internet usage. The malware disables your device and asks the owner to pay a ransom until a certain time or else face deletion of their files forever. Up until recently, ransomware attackers demand payment either via Western Union and other remittance services, or even mobile money in some cases. Ever since Bitcoins became widely accepted globally a few years ago, it, and other cryptocurrencies, have become the choice of ransom for these criminals.

How to Prevent or Stop Ransomware

Update your operating systems. All of the computers recently infected are using outdated versions of Windows software.

Have a pop-up blocker and reliable and legitimate anti-virus software for your computer. If most of your work and even your personal life is on that computer, it makes sense to invest in proper anti-virus software.

This strain of ransomware was not spread by email, but there are some that do so be careful when opening email attachments. Always double check emails from “authoritative” sources pretending to ask you to open a file.

Last but not the least, and the easiest thing to do that can totally prevent this whole problem, is to BACKUP your files everyday. It is very easy nowadays to make backups on the cloud with Google and other software companies. If you have complete backups, you can simply ignore the demand and reboot/reinstall your files with updated software and proper anti-virus protection. “Too Late, I am a Victim. What Can I Do?”

For the most recent “Wannacry” ransomware that is spreading around, Microsoft has already identified the way this specific strain of ransomware spread from device to device, and has issued a issued a fix for it. Then backup your files offline and always be vigilant with the sites you visit or the files you open on email.

The most important advice here though, is this: Don't pay the ransom. Ransomware asks for amounts ranging from $200-$300, which seems small and easy to pay (that is the purpose). Wouldn’t you pay $200 to save all your files and work? Most people are opting to pay this, but since you are dealing with criminals, there is no logic in expecting that they will not ask for more after you have paid.

I Still Want To Buy Bitcoins To Pay For This, Can You Help? If you are buying Bitcoins to from us to pay for ransomware, please do not hesitate to tell us. We need to be able to identify these addresses so that we can make sure they are not used in any of our systems, or at least possibly identify the criminals if they ever try to use any of SCI’s services. Rest assured that SCI, with the cooperation of local authorities and the BSP, will help our customers avoid these attacks, or in the worst case, help them survive it.

You can send us an email on [email protected] with the title “Help, Ransomware” and we will do our best to guide you on what to do.

If you are purchasing Bitcoins to pay for Ransomware or any other cyberattack, please do not hesitate to inform us. SCI, in cooperation with the authorities, will do its best to help you.

#sci #sciph #ransomware #bitcoinph #bitcoins #bitcoin

Bitcoin Hard Fork for Bigger Blocks: What’s The Rush?

When we first decided to dive into the Bitcoin industry back in late 2013, the “industry” itself was very small, and it was still trying to find its identity. Was it a transaction network like VISA, or a cross-border settlement layer like SWIFT? Was it a commodity or asset class for speculators, or a store of value for investors? Asking or guidance for our business venture, should we approach the central bank or the SEC? The answer to those questions, we soon learned, is no different from asking if the Internet is a communications channel, a publishing platform, or an information sharing network - it is all of those. We believe that Bitcoin transcends the limits of what we see as separate technologies today, for a future where all those financial applications or services mentioned above can seamlessly share a universal, inter-operable, and openly accessible platform. So, for the last three years, we built [our business] on this platform, the Bitcoin blockchain. We are not developing the technology itself, but building a commercial-use layer on top of it. As [the flagship of our services], we have built, along with several other players in this specific use-case for Bitcoin, a network of cross-border remittance platforms that are able to seamlessly work together from all over the world without needing to use the existing inefficient and expensive intermediary services, which in turn allows migrant workers who send money home to their families to save a lot of time and money. It also enables B2B transactions for SMEs to enjoy the same benefits as well. We call this Rebittance. The Bitcoin industry has grown by leaps and bounds in the last three years. In its current form, it has allowed many startups like us to flourish, and yes, we are still growing and expanding as we speak. Hell, we built our services when the price of Bitcoin was being flushed down the toilet and exchanges were getting hacked left and right. This never fazed us because we understood that these problems were the problems of third-party services and/or market forces, not Bitcoin technology itself. So what if exchanges get hacked? What if the price is tanking? As long as the technology was sound, we had nothing to worry about. This is why we believe the rush to do a hard fork is irresponsible and selfish. We know it’s important for some to be able to buy their morning coffee with Bitcoin, but is it really as important as making sure that the technology does not suffer catastrophic consequences in the process of doing so? What is the rush? Right now, Bitcoin WORKS. And we know that it doesn’t just magically work - we understand that a dedicated team of hundreds of the smartest developers in the world are working day and night to make sure it works. The sheer amount of work required to just keep the status quo is quite staggering. The fact that personalities and politics are now becoming a threat to the existence of this technology means that maybe it is time to take a step back and look at where we are now as a technology and an industry, to where we want to be in the near future, as well as much further down the road. Our stance on the Bitcoin hard fork is reflected by this [blog post] from the Bitgo team . It presents an objective and sober argument against a contentious hard fork, as well as offering solutions in the event of one happening, although we hope, along with many others like us who are working in the Bitcoin industry, that a contentious hard fork never happens. After attending a talk by Andreas Antonopoulos a few days ago in Singapore, I learned a few things that really hit the nail on the head regarding this whole issue we are facing today: There has never been anything like Bitcoin in the history of technology. Everything we are experiencing today (did anyone ever think that one day, there would be a $20 Billion debate about “forks”?) is uncharted territory, and every decision we make will shape the future of this technology for good. It is an amazing experiment, one in which we are proud to participate and contribute, and one that believe will be one of the most important technological breakthroughs of our time, at par with the development of the internet itself, * if* we don’t allow it to implode due to egos and politics. Bitcoin and Blockchain technology cannot be uninvented, but we should not smother the baby in its cradle, and yes, Bitcoin is still in its cradle today. As a potential disruptor of trillion-dollar industries, Bitcoin will be attacked from all directions from the outside, and being antifragile allows it to not just survive these attacks, but become stronger because of them. The only possible way to kill it would be from the inside, and it is in everybody’s best interest to avoid doing that.

#bitcoin #bitcoinph #sci #sciph