Eliminating Security Vulnerabilities in Virtual Markets and Decentralized Exchanges

Eliminating Security Vulnerabilities in Virtual Markets and Decentralized Exchanges

Following the release of the New York Attorney General’s report on Virtual Markets, iCompy and Hosho will co-present a blockchain security and auditing MasterClass for exchanges, protocols, and ICOs on October 4 as an online teaser leading up to HoshoCon

Las Vegas, Nevada – October 1, 2018 – iComply Investor Services (“iComply”), a leading global RegTech platform for digital finance and cryptocurrencies is announcing that it has partnered with Hosho Group LLC. (“Hosho”). Hosho provides smart contract auditing, penetration testing, and cybersecurity maintenance services focused on the blockchain industry.

This month, the New York State Office of the Attorney General launched the Virtual Markets Integrity Initiative, which issued a report that analyzed how virtual currencies (cryptocurrencies) are traded.

According to the report: “Few issues are of greater importance to customers of virtual asset trading platforms than the security of the funds … sophisticated criminals attempt to infiltrate these platforms constantly, and have reportedly stolen billions of dollars’ worth of virtual currency. Once an unauthorized third-party gains access to a customer account, those funds can be quickly transferred beyond the reach of law enforcement.”

An average of $23 Million USD of cryptocurrency hacked or stolen each day because of security vulnerabilities.

“Most virtual asset exchanges currently use an inefficient patchwork of products and services in an attempt to enable effective multi-jurisdictional compliance. These disjointed systems create hacker vulnerabilities that risk investor funds, data, and the platform’s reputation,” said Matthew Unger, CEO of iComply. “When we met with the product and engineering teams of these same exchanges we were shocked by the vulnerabilities we saw – specifically from their KYC, facial recognition, and AML providers. Investors’ personal data is being stored on local drives, in email inboxes, and often is neither transmitted nor stored with encryption.”

iComply offers end-to-end compliance solutions for digital finance. Through a single REST API companies – and specifically digital finance platforms – are able to achieve 100% coverage of every issue outlined in the Attorney General’s report in addition to the standards required by FINRA proof of ownership and source of funds reporting.

Hosho reported that on average, 82% of the smart contracts that the team has audited have some sort of vulnerability, 27% of which are critical and contract breaking, which means that funds could have been lost or stolen.

“It is Hosho’s goal to push the blockchain industry towards maturation by improving the overall security awareness and standards across the board. Partnering with iComply is a no-brainer given their ethos and philosophy align perfectly with our own. We are both putting in place the infrastructure, services, and technologies necessary to the long-term development of a strong and secure ecosystem,” said Hartej Sawhney, President of Hosho.

The companies have partnered on a MasterClass taking place virtually on October 4, 2018, that will aim to educate participants on cybersecurity for blockchain and smart contracts.

Both companies will also present at HoshoCon which takes place October 9 -11 in Las Vegas. The conference is dedicated to cybersecurity and technology standards for blockchain and the decentralized financial market.

##

About Hosho
Hosho is the global leader in blockchain security, specializing in enterprise-grade security services for Fortune 500 and early-stage companies alike. Entirely focused on the blockchain industry, Hosho is setting the standard for blockchain security, providing state-of-the-art smart contract auditing and penetration testing services. With blockchain, the repercussions of a security hack are much greater than in traditional technology, making cybersecurity-related services of the utmost importance. Hosho plays an important role in the nascent blockchain industry by resolving issues that often lead to funds being lost or stolen. For more information on Hosho and our comprehensive suite of services, please visit Hosho.io

Enhanced Due Diligence: A Comprehensive Guide
Enhanced Due Diligence: A Comprehensive Guide

Enhanced Due Diligence (EDD) is a critical process in the compliance landscape, particularly for financial institutions. It involves a deeper level of scrutiny for high-risk customers to prevent money laundering, fraud, and other...

The Future of FATF Travel Rule and Regulatory Compliance
The Future of FATF Travel Rule and Regulatory Compliance

Understanding the FATF Travel Rule The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule is a significant regulation in the global fight against money laundering and terrorist financing. It mandates that financial institutions share certain information about the...

Challenges and Solutions in FATF Travel Rule Compliance
Challenges and Solutions in FATF Travel Rule Compliance

Complying with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Travel Rule presents several challenges for financial institutions. These challenges can hinder the effective implementation of compliance processes. This article explores...

iComply MasterClass: Smart Contract Auditing Expert Panel

iComply MasterClass: Smart Contract Auditing Expert Panel

In this upcoming MasterClass, iComply hosts Hosho’s CTO Alex Blair as he joins iComply’s CTO Matt Masiar, to speak on the importance of smart contract auditing, especially for financial applications of smart contracts.

In 2017, a total of $400 million that was raised through initial coin offerings (ICOs) was lost or stolen. This year $23 million was lost to crypto scams every day, with 10% of all funds invested into ICOs also having been reported lost or stolen. The status quo of token fundraising is not sustainable, nor ready for institutional finance.

A single vulnerability once exploited can destroy an entire project. Code, if not audited may not function as intended but will work fine for a short period of time. Companies soft-launching on a blockchain network have a lot to lose from code vulnerabilities and it could end up being a costly decision to not have an audit prior to launch.

Save Your Spot: Registration Limited to the First 100 People Date: Thursday, October 4 Time: 11:00 AM – 11:45 AM (Pacific) Who is this MasterClass for? Developers, Token Issuers, Exchanges, Cyber Security Consultants

Key Learnings:
In this MasterClass, the panel will break down what smart contract audits are, why they are essential and how they can protect you and your investors. 

About Alexander Blair
As CTO of Hosho, the global leader in blockchain technology, Alexander leads its technology teams. Every audit bearing the Hosho name or GPG signature is viewed by him. He participates in the audit of ERC-20 contracts, intensive gambling contracts, website penetration testing, and consulting work. With each project, Alexander works to help companies achieve proper security for their funds and the blockchain ecosystem. Alexander Blair possesses a depth of knowledge and experience in low-level system administration, high-level development in multiple languages, cybersecurity, and cryptocurrency mining. Within the healthcare and cybersecurity industries, Alexander has refined his extensive skills in software security protocols. His projects include the sole development of updated mining pool software for cryptocurrencies based on the Cryptonote protocol; co-running SupportXMR.com – a cryptocurrency pool that focused on providing high-quality, high-speed mining pool access worldwide; and the intensive growth of the largest Monero pool in the world to a peak position. Prior to serving as the Chief Technology Officer at Hosho, Alexander enhanced his knowledge of security at Yo Sub Kwon’s LaunchKey. Later acquired by Iovation, Kwon tapped Alexander to join his new venture, Hosho – a cybersecurity company focused on the specific needs of the blockchain industry.

About Matt Masiar
A pioneer of Web technology for almost two decades, Natt’s work has won numerous local and international web development awards. He has acted as a CTO, Tech Team Lead, and technical adviser on a number of projects. He has demonstrated experience with designing and implementing secure, high-performance, scalable applications; large-scale integration projects; native mobile and responsive web applications; and legacy client-server based applications. Skilled in software design patterns, agile methodology, architecture, ASP.net, C#, Mobile Applications, Web Design, Management, and relational database design. 

About iComply Investor Services Inc.
iComply Investor Services Inc. (iComply) is an award-winning software company focused on reducing regulatory friction in the capital markets. With powerful data, verification, tokenization solutions, iComply helps companies overcome the cost and complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance to effectively access new markets. Learn more: iComplyIS.com

Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols
Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols

Are your fraud prevention protocols up to date with the latest Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards? In 2021, there was a 43% increase in fraud and computer misuse crimes compared to 2019, indicating that economic crime is on the rise....

Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software
Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software

With financial crime, fraud, and money laundering quickly taking precedence as some of the most aggressively expanding forms of crime across the globe, having a risk-based approach to monitoring your current customer base, as well as verifying the identities of new...

KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply
KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply

Is your banking institution set up for success and compliance in 2023? With the financial and digital asset markets experiencing a tumultuous time after the extreme fluctuations faced during the peak of COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to double down...

iComply Participates in the United Nations Blockchain for Impact Summit #BFI2018

iComply Participates in the United Nations Blockchain for Impact Summit #BFI2018

iComply Participates in the United Nations Blockchain for Impact Summit #BFI2018

iComply was recently invited to participate at the UN Blockchain for Impact Summit in New York. Our CEO Matthew Unger spoke to the delegation on behalf of the digital identity working group about governance of global identity regulation and how (if not mitigated by design) digital identity issues could lead to a dark and Orwellian future.

Unger’s group argued that ID subjects must have a say in any decision related to an identity protocol (consensus) and the need for a “Data Subject Bill of Rights” or “Digital Identity Charter” that includes the following:

  • Right to Create: everyone must have the right to create a digital identity they own and have control over. 
  • Right to Delegate Access: everyone must have the right to choose who has access to their identity and personal information, and the right to revoke that access. 
  • Right to Recover: everyone must have the right to recover what data is stored about them and the ability to recover or reset lost or stolen private keys. 
  • Right to Audit: Everyone must have the right to see all data about themselves that is stored as well as who has historically and currently had access to their data and for what purpose. 
  • Right to be Forgotten: Every individual must have the ability to completely erase their personal data from a digital identity system. 
  • No Backdoors: personal data must be completely secure with no third party given access to overwrite data or access credentials. 
  • No Honeypots: personal data about individuals must not be commingled with the personal data of others.

iComply was pleased to participate in this event and looks forward to future engagement with the United Nations Blockchain Working Group.

Looking for financial grade KYC and AML in an enterprise ready API?

iComply offers global screening for humans, corporations, and blockchain transactions in a single REST API.

Book a demo with one of our specialists to learn more.

About iComply Investor Services Inc.
iComply Investor Services Inc. (iComply) is an award-winning software company focused on reducing regulatory friction in the capital markets. With powerful data, verification, tokenization solutions, iComply helps companies overcome the cost and complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance to effectively access new markets. Learn more: iComplyIS.com

Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols
Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols

Are your fraud prevention protocols up to date with the latest Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards? In 2021, there was a 43% increase in fraud and computer misuse crimes compared to 2019, indicating that economic crime is on the rise....

Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software
Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software

With financial crime, fraud, and money laundering quickly taking precedence as some of the most aggressively expanding forms of crime across the globe, having a risk-based approach to monitoring your current customer base, as well as verifying the identities of new...

KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply
KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply

Is your banking institution set up for success and compliance in 2023? With the financial and digital asset markets experiencing a tumultuous time after the extreme fluctuations faced during the peak of COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to double down...

FutureTech Podcast – iComply: Automated Compliance For Digital Assets

FutureTech Podcast – iComply: Automated Compliance For Digital Assets

FutureTech Podcast – iComply: Automated Compliance For Digital Assets

“Compliance is not easy, but it is also not optional.” Nor is it impossible, and iComply is working to make the process easier for clients by offering a customizable, automated compliance platform for token offerings.

The iComply platform is based on an open protocol that can handle both the initial issuance and secondary trading of tokens across multiple blockchains.

FutureTech Podcast features iComply founders to discuss our patented Prefacto technology and our upcoming speaking slot at the Bitcoin, Blockchain, & Ethereum SuperConference in February.

iComply—Automated Compliance For Digital Assets
Host: Josh Thomas
Guests: Matthew Unger & Qayyum Rajan

Listen to the full Podcast here:

Looking for an end-to-end token management studio?

iComply’s token compliance platform, Prefacto enables issuers to capture the value of blockchain asset management with multi-jurisdictional compliance automation for over 150 countries.

Book a demo with one of our specialists to learn more.

About iComply Investor Services Inc.
iComply Investor Services Inc. (iComply) is an award-winning software company focused on reducing regulatory friction in the capital markets. With powerful data, verification, tokenization solutions, iComply helps companies overcome the cost and complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance to effectively access new markets. Learn more: iComplyIS.com

Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols
Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols

Are your fraud prevention protocols up to date with the latest Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards? In 2021, there was a 43% increase in fraud and computer misuse crimes compared to 2019, indicating that economic crime is on the rise....

Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software
Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software

With financial crime, fraud, and money laundering quickly taking precedence as some of the most aggressively expanding forms of crime across the globe, having a risk-based approach to monitoring your current customer base, as well as verifying the identities of new...

KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply
KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply

Is your banking institution set up for success and compliance in 2023? With the financial and digital asset markets experiencing a tumultuous time after the extreme fluctuations faced during the peak of COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to double down...

iComply Attracts Angel Investment from MIT Fellow

iComply Attracts Angel Investment from MIT Fellow

iComply Attracts Angel Investment from MIT Fellow

iComplyICO was mentioned in CryptoNinjas this morning highlighting our advisor and angel investor Praveen Mandal.

iComply Attracts Angel Investment from MIT Fellow – CryptoNinjas (via Coin Wisdom)
By: CryptoNinjas
iComply (iComply Investor Services Inc.), an AI-supported, compliance platform that automates securities regulation to enable companies to use the technology of initial coin offerings (ICOs) for traditional securities, today is announcing that it has secured angel investment from Praveen Mandal and appointed him to… Read the full article here.

Looking for an end-to-end token management studio?

iComply’s token compliance platform, Prefacto enables issuers to capture the value of blockchain asset management with multi-jurisdictional compliance automation for over 150 countries.

Book a demo with one of our specialists to learn more.

About iComply Investor Services Inc.
iComply Investor Services Inc. (iComply) is an award-winning software company focused on reducing regulatory friction in the capital markets. With powerful data, verification, tokenization solutions, iComply helps companies overcome the cost and complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance to effectively access new markets. Learn more: iComplyIS.com

Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols
Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols

Are your fraud prevention protocols up to date with the latest Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards? In 2021, there was a 43% increase in fraud and computer misuse crimes compared to 2019, indicating that economic crime is on the rise....

Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software
Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software

With financial crime, fraud, and money laundering quickly taking precedence as some of the most aggressively expanding forms of crime across the globe, having a risk-based approach to monitoring your current customer base, as well as verifying the identities of new...

KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply
KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply

Is your banking institution set up for success and compliance in 2023? With the financial and digital asset markets experiencing a tumultuous time after the extreme fluctuations faced during the peak of COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to double down...

Why The Crypto Market Has Appreciated More Than 1,200% This Year – Forbes

Why The Crypto Market Has Appreciated More Than 1,200% This Year – Forbes

Why The Crypto Market Has Appreciated More Than 1,200% This Year – Forbes

Matthew Unger shares his thoughts with Forbes about the “hype” of Bitcoin this year in today’s article.

Why The Crypto Market Has Appreciated More Than 1,200% This Year – Forbes
By: Charles Bovaird
The value of the cryptocurrency market has surged this year, rising more than 1,200%. The total market capitalization (market cap) of these digital assets rose to $230.9 billion today, according to CoinMarketCap… Read the full article here.

Looking for an end-to-end token management studio?

iComply’s token compliance platform, Prefacto enables issuers to capture the value of blockchain asset management with multi-jurisdictional compliance automation for over 150 countries.

Book a demo with one of our specialists to learn more.

About iComply Investor Services Inc.
iComply Investor Services Inc. (iComply) is an award-winning software company focused on reducing regulatory friction in the capital markets. With powerful data, verification, tokenization solutions, iComply helps companies overcome the cost and complexity of multi-jurisdictional compliance to effectively access new markets. Learn more: iComplyIS.com

Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols
Exploring the Importance and Challenges of KYC Protocols

Are your fraud prevention protocols up to date with the latest Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML) standards? In 2021, there was a 43% increase in fraud and computer misuse crimes compared to 2019, indicating that economic crime is on the rise....

Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software
Assessing Customer Risk with Automated KYC and AML Software

With financial crime, fraud, and money laundering quickly taking precedence as some of the most aggressively expanding forms of crime across the globe, having a risk-based approach to monitoring your current customer base, as well as verifying the identities of new...

KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply
KYC for Banking – Made Simple with iComply

Is your banking institution set up for success and compliance in 2023? With the financial and digital asset markets experiencing a tumultuous time after the extreme fluctuations faced during the peak of COVID-19, there’s never been a more important time to double down...