Despite near-universal support for an upgrade to the blockchain powering bitcoin, allowing the cryptocurrency to operate more efficiently, several recalcitrant bitcoin coders and miners have decided to “fork” bitcoin into a new currency. Called “Bitcoin Cash,” or BCC in an abbreviated version, the new cryptocurrency will take the entire bitcoin blockchain and implement changes, referred ...

China and Russia are banning virtual private networks as both countries attempt to further control and monitor what its citizens view and access online. In the Middle Kingdom, Apple Inc. is complying with central governments decision to outright ban the use of VPNs within its borders by removing all apps from the App Store. Express ...

In news that can only be described as out of left field, the hermit kingdom of North Korea has apparently joined the digital age and has started mining bitcoin in a serious way. The new comes via a report this week from threat intelligence company Recorded Future Inc., which found that despite most of the country ...

A Russian airline has achieved a world’s first by using the Ethereum blockchain to sell tickets. S7 Airlines, in conjunction with Russia’s Alfa-Bank, has implemented the Ethereum blockchain to simplify payments and to speed up payment settlement times between airlines and agents. The customized platform automatically processes all stage of bookings including execution of payment application, verification of adequacy of ...

Google Inc. has shut down a newly discovered form of Android spyware linked to an Israeli company that specializes in “cyberwarfare.” Called “Lipizzan,” the spyware was found to be bundled with 20 apps and is claimed to exfiltrate a user’s email, SMS messages, location, voice calls and media. In a blog post, the Google Android team said ...

Amazon.com Inc. wants a slice of the emerging healthcare tech market and has a secret lab working on products in the space, according to a report published Wednesday. CNBC claims that the e-commerce and cloud hosting giant is operating a “secret skunkworks lab” called 1492, likely named after the year Christopher Columbus discovered the new ...

A Russian man believed to have been the operator of the BTC-e bitcoin exchange has been arrested in Greece on money laundering charges, some of which may relate to stolen funds from failed Japanese bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox. Alexander Vinnik, 38, was arrested in northern Greece Tuesday by local police in cooperation with U.S. authorities. Reports ...

Australian hearing device maker Cochlear Ltd. has announced a new hearing implant processor that is natively compatible with Apple Inc.’s range of iOS devices such as the iPhone. The newly announced Nucleus 7 Sound Processor, which was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in June, allows users to gain access to sound automatically ...

Slack Technologies Inc. is raising $250 million in a round led by SoftBank Group and Accel Partners, according to a report published Wednesday. Bloomberg, quoting people familiar with the matter, said the round will be raised at a valuation of more than $5 billion. It also said the deal allows employees and other shareholders of the ...

Legal, regulated bitcoin options trading will soon be a reality after the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission issued an order granting LedgerX LLC registration as a derivatives clearing organization under the Commodity Exchange Act. Founded in 2013, LedgerX already offers a range of services akin to a bitcoin exchange, but the new regulatory approval means that it’s ...