Tag Archive for NFT

| January 27, 2023
Comments Off on What You Need to Know About MailChimp Security

What You Need to Know About MailChimp Security

What You Need to Know About MailChimp SecurityJust in time for Data Privacy Day. Mailchimp, one of the largest email service-providers worldwide with 13 million active customers. suffered a security breach. On January 11, 2023 the Mailchimp security team reported that an unauthorized actor download the data of 133 customers of the Mailchimp service.

Mailchimp data leak

Data privacy day The Mailchimp security team identified an unauthorized actor had accessed tools used by Mailchimp customer-facing teams for customer support and account administration. The unauthorized actor conducted a social engineering attack on Mailchimp employees and contractors, and obtained access to Mailchimp accounts using employee credentials compromised in that attack.

Impacted organizations include WooCommerce, online gambling site FanDuel, Crypto darlings Yuga Labs and the Solana Foundation.

CSC405: Introduction to Computer SecurityMailchimp says they temporarily suspended account access for Mailchimp accounts where they detected suspicious activity to protect our users’ data. They have notified the primary contacts for all affected accounts on January 12. Mailchimp has been working with their customers to help them reinstate their accounts.

Recent data breaches

MailChimp has announced several data breaches in recent months. In August 2022, a cyberattack targeted its cryptocurrency-related customers. Mailchimp also revealed a security incident in March 2022.

data leakSpeculation is swirling online about the security of parent company Intuit other product lines (which includes TurboTax, Credit Karma and Quickbooks). TurboTax suffered its own security breach in 2021. Questions are also being raised about a possible central backdoor into Intuit, which the company denies.

If you have questions regarding a notice you received or the incident in general, please reach out you can email ciso@mailchimp.com. The company has not announced the appointment of a new CISO since Siobhan Smyth left the position in August 2022 shortly after the August 2022 was announced.

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multi-factor authenticationInformation exposed in data breaches like this is commonly used by attackers to target users with phishing attacks or attempt to reset passwords to gain account authorization. This is why multi-factor authentication (MFA) can help. Even if the bogus password resets were successful the MFA can prevent the attacker from going further.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| November 27, 2022
Comments Off on Ozzfest Flops in the Metaverse

Ozzfest Flops in the Metaverse

Ozzy Flops in the MetaverseThe reviews are in for the recent Decentraland Metaverse “Metaverse Music Festival 2022,” by Ozzy Osbourne. They are not good. The legendary IRL hard-rocking concert series Ozzfest looked like “a slideshow running on a PlayStation 2,” in the digital space according to one review. 

Ozzy Osbourne in the metaverseThe Metalverse show featured “performances” by metal legends Skid Row, Megadeth, Motorhead, and Ozzy Osbourne. The Prince of Darkness performance turned out to be digital facsimiles of Ozzy stiffly “performing” on stage. No backing band, just the legendary performer’s virtual avatar looking “stiff as hell” in one review.

Metaverse mosh pit

There was a sparse crowd of player avatars just kind of standing there and maybe shuffling their feet in a goofy, lifeless dance. One review called the concertgoers “a phantasmagorical array of avatars.” (rb- I don’t know what that means – but I’m sure its not good) Not exactly the sweaty, blood-pounding experience of the Ozzfest mosh pit of my youth.

Metaverse Music Festival 2022

As you can see in the video, the visuals were bad. They were described as having the “set design and visual appeal that would fit better in Guitar Hero.” There were hokey banners shouting things like “Welcome to the Metalverse” and “rock your fucking heads.”  The show backdrop featured an advert for NFTs. It sounds like the “corporate capitalist hellscape” that we have come to expect from social media not a show from the Black Sabbath frontman.

What is the metaverse

metaverseIn plain language, the metaverse is an interactive, 3D version of today’s internet. The pipe dream is for people to travel through virtual spaces.  We’ve (kind of ) seen this fad before. Second Life was the virtual world du jour in the early 2000s.

Launched in 2020, Decentraland is described as a virtual social world powered by the Ethereum blockchain. It claims to be the first decentralized metaverse. Within the Decentraland platform, users can create, experience, and monetize content and applications as well as socialize and attend events like Ozzfest. 

Not many visitors

The Decentraland Metaverse isn’t exactly teeming with people. Despite a metaverse valuation of over $6.5 billion dollars, users just don’t care. There are reports that Decentraland only had 38 “active users” over a period of 24 hours. This a very low number, especially considering the company has a market cap of a $1.2 billion. These numbers really amount too much, given the amount of money being poured into metaverse platforms like Decentraland. One expert said,

Anyone telling you that there’s a metaverse today that has worked is lying through their teeth. 

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A cow wearing VR gogglesI get it – the metaverse is a new crypto-enabled sales channel. It is being used to promote new music, drive NFT sales, or perform in the metaverse with new audiences.But I am highly skeptical of any of these projects by the techbros to upload everything into the new-agey singularity metaverse.

I sure hope this is not the future. Where some unknown person on the intertubes can exploit and make even more money off of dead musicians and bands that no longer exist. Can you imagine a Kiss farewell 2040 show made up of deep-fake technology viewable only with a virtual reality headset rig?

I don’t want to go to a pretend concert in a pretend location.

I would rather be on the hill at Pine Knob during a June evening hearing real sounds, real sights, real smells, and real emotions, from real musicians with real fans.

Pine Knob

 

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| July 23, 2022
Comments Off on How to Buy a Non-Fungible Token

How to Buy a Non-Fungible Token

How to Buy a Non-Fungible TokenCNN reports that a new record price was paid for bottle of Champagne. The bubbly sold at auction for $2.5 million, making it the most expensive bottle of wine ever sold. The record setting magnum of Chateau Avenue Foch, 2017, comes with a bonus. For $2.6 million the owners also got a single non-fungible token (NFT). The NFT is for the rights to an image of “Bored Ape Mutant” and other cartoon figures that decorate the bottle.

What is a non-fungible token

What is a non-fungible tokenNon-fungible tokens (NFTs) are the latest cryptocurrency phenomenon to go mainstream. NFTs claim to transform digital works of art and other collectibles into one-of-a-kind, verifiable assets that can be traded on the blockchain. Sales of NFTs have been driven by celebrity endorsements, Online characeters like Elon Musk and Lindsay Lohan have pushed the NFT market to $41 billion in sales to 2021.

Non-fungible tokens are cryptographic assets on a blockchain with unique identification codes and metadata. These traits distinguish them from each other. Unlike cryptocurrencies, they cannot be traded or exchanged at equivalency. This differs from fungible tokens like cryptocurrencies, which are identical to each other and, can serve as a medium for commercial transactions.

How to Buy NFTs

How to Buy NFTsTo get into the highly speculative non-fungible token market, you will need to do some work before you can own an NFT.

  1. Set up a digital wallet that allows you to store NFTs and cryptocurrencies.
    2. Purchase some cryptocurrency. Eth, on the Ethereum network is the most popular cryptocurrency to buy NFTs. You can buy cryptocurrency using a credit card on platforms like Coinbase or PayPal.
    3. Move your cryptocurrency from the exchange to your wallet.
    3. Start shopping at non-fungible token marketplaces. NFT marketplaces are platforms that host thousands of non-fungible tokens creators and collectors.

NFT marketplaces

Foundation is a community-curated marketplace. It requires non-fungible token creators to be invited by other creators who are already part of the platform. 

Nifty Gateway is an non-fungible token marketplace with plans “to make NFTs accessible to everyone.” They work with big-name brands, athletes, and creators to create limited-edition digital art collections exclusive to the platform.

OpenSea.io is one of the first NFT marketplaces. It bills itself as  the “largest NFT marketplace.”

Rarible is a community-owned non-fungible token marketplace.  The platform focuses on art assets. It uses the RARI cryptocurrency issued on the platform.

The high profile NFT craze is attracting scammers. Some may try to sell you an non-fungible token when it’s not. Others may claim they have the right to sell an NFT they don’t own and didn’t create.

You have been warned.


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CNN reports that the Champagne was bought by Italian  cryptocurrency speculators. Despite their crypto profile, the purchase was made in dollars due to the recent cryptocurrency implosion. The price of a Bored Ape Yacht Club token has fallen. The price fell from an all-time high in April 2022 of 153 eth ($163,000), to 75 ethereum in May 2022.

Remember that the value of a non-fungible token is based entirely on what someone else is willing to pay for it. Therefore, demand will drive the price rather than fundamental, technical or economic indicators, which drive stock prices and investor demand.

Even if you buy a non-fungible token winner worth millions, Forbes warns that NFTs are subject to capital gains taxes. NFTs are taxable just like when you sell stocks at a profit. Since they’re considered collectibles, they may not receive the preferential long-term capital gains rates stocks do and may even be taxed at a higher collectibles tax rate. 

The cryptocurrencies used to purchase the NFT may also be taxed if they’ve increased in value since you bought them. This means you may want to check in with a tax professional when considering adding NFTs to your portfolio.

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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| June 22, 2021
Comments Off on Hot Wheels Roll into NFT

Hot Wheels Roll into NFT

Hot Wheels Roll into NFTMattel (MAT) has joined the cryptocurrency craze. The toymaker will offer three pieces of digital art in the form of nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, for auction on its Mattel Creations website. The digital art sale will feature several iconic Hot Wheels vehicles in the Hot Wheels NFT Garage Series. The one-of-a-kind works will feature classic cars in their original colors from the initial release: 

  • The Twin Mill was designed in 1968 as a sleek racer with twin big-block engines.
  • Bone Shaker NFTThe Bone Shaker is a hot-rod-style machine with a skull and bones theme.
  • Finally, the Deroa II represents one of the original 16 cars Mattel released. The model has a bubble windshield, an engine in the back, and a pair of surfboards.

The virtual cars will be auctioned off, beginning on June 22, 2021, at noon Eastern. The auction will run for a week. Mattel is only accepting the cryptocurrency Ethereum (ETH). Bidding starts at $0.99. With only one NFT of each car being created, prices could soar.

Mattel planning more NFT collections

NFT auctionsMattel has stated that it was already in the planning stages to release similar NFT auctions for other intellectual properties. CEO Richard Dickson stated that the Hot Wheels NFT move is part of Mattel’s effort to remain relevant by evolving toys into digital art. “Part of our effort to make Mattel relevant is to make sure that our brands are timeless and timely … We need to be on top of current conversations.”

Some examples of brands owned by Mattel that could release NFTs include:

  • American Girl,
  • Barbie,
  • Fisher-Price,
  • Masters of the Universe, and
  • Matchbox.

What is an NFT

What is an NFTNFTs are non-fungible tokens. An NFT is a piece of digital content that you own that still retains the creator’s information. For instance, artists can sign their artwork by including their signature in an NFT’s metadata. The creator’s information is maintained in the blockchain. Unlike bitcoin (BTC), which also uses a blockchain, you can’t trade an NFTs for a pizza, because the NFT is not fungible. Fungibility is the ability to substitute one unit of a financial instrument for another unit of the same financial instrument. Every dollar or bitcoin has the same value at the same time.

Each NFT is attached to a specific digital asset i.e. a piece of art, or a picture of a Hot Wheels car. An NFT is a unique, digital version of a certificate of authenticity, publicly approved by the blockchain and not money. NFTs have become popular in the art world because they allow artists to have more control over their works by selling limited-edition digital goods directly to consumers. 

Sell directly to the consumer as an NFTForbes explains that Blockchain technology and NFTs offer content creators a unique opportunity to monetize their wares. For example, artists no longer have to rely on galleries or auction houses to sell their art. Instead, the artist can sell it directly to the consumer as an NFT, which also lets them keep more of the profits. In addition, artists can program in royalties so they’ll receive a percentage of sales whenever their art is sold to a new owner. This is an attractive feature as artists generally do not receive future proceeds after their art is first sold.

NFTs environmental impact 

NFTs environmental impact Then there is the environmental impact of NFTs, which has attracted real scrutiny. The computing power required to operate the underlying blockchain system of NFTs is immense. By some estimates, one crypto transaction could gobble up more power than the average U.S. household uses in a single day. One artist estimated that generating six NFT pieces consumed more electricity than his entire physical studio did in two years. 

Other firms jumping into NFTs

Other firms jumping into the NFT game include:

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Some people believe this is the future of buying, selling, and trading assets. But critics say the market could crash if cryptocurrencies tumble.

What do you think?

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Stay safe out there!

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Ralph Bach has been in IT long enough to know better and has blogged from his Bach Seat about IT, careers, and anything else that catches his attention since 2005. You can follow him on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. Email the Bach Seat here.

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