Litecoin

Mobile crypto ‘mining’ app possibly connected to personal data leak


Pi Network, a cryptocurrency mining app for mobile users, may have been connected to 17GB worth of personal data leaks, a Vietnamese news outlet reported on Monday.The treasure trove of personal data was apparently taken from the Know Your Customer checks of users of Pi Network, according to the person who posted it to hacker hangout RaidForums on Thursday.The identity cards of an estimated 10,000 Vietnamese citizens were placed for sale, along with connected home addresses, phone numbers and email addresses. The seller placed a price tag of $9,000 on the data, payable in either Bitcoin (BTC) or Litecoin (LTC).Phien Vo, a moderator of a Vietnamese Pi Network group chat channel, told VnExpress that Pi Network’s KYC checks are performed a third party, adding that Vietnamese identity cards like those in question aren’t compatible with the app. However, Vo did indicate that an older version of the app was compatible with the cards at one point. “To perform KYC verification on Pi Network, Vietnamese would need to use their passports. Only some users who used earlier versions of Pi could perform KYC verification using their driver licenses, but so far the system has yet to accept Vietnamese identity cards,” Vo said.Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security’s cybersecurity division has since launched an investigation into the matter. An independent investigation into Pi Network’s perceived value was recently conducted Cem Dilmegani, a tech entrepreneur and founder of AIMultiple. Written weeks prior to the recent data leak, the review concluded that Pi Network bore the hallmarks of a multilevel marketing scheme, or an affiliate marketing program.The Pi app reportedly demands users log in every day and click a button to receive their PI coins. No blockchain consensus algorithm, like proof-of-work or proof-of-stake, is used in the app, and users can gain increased mining rates referring other people. The PI token is not yet traded on exchanges and has no dollar value.The app reportedly sells data for advertising revenue from the moment its usage begins. Given that ad space can sell for a higher value with personal user info included, many have been led to speculate that the Pi app is designed only to siphon personally identifying information from its users. Cointelegraph reached out to a Pi Network spokesperson for comment. This article will be updated should they reply.

bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 37,976.17
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,085.70
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 228.86
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.610462
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 60.64
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999379
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,084.93
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.379987
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.083508
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.103633
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 2.42
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 14.58
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 22.05
matic-network
Polygon (MATIC) $ 0.770933
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 5.48
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 37,940.17
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999952
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 70.02
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000008
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 6.05
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 222.77
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 3.99
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 56.69
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.118777
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 169.89
true-usd
TrueUSD (TUSD) $ 0.997731
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.132384
cosmos
Cosmos Hub (ATOM) $ 9.34
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 18.84
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.090045
lido-dao
Lido DAO (LDO) $ 2.41
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 4.44
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 4.65
hedera-hashgraph
Hedera (HBAR) $ 0.060508
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 7.03
thorchain
THORChain (RUNE) $ 6.48
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 1.88
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.542458
immutable-x
Immutable (IMX) $ 1.31
binance-usd
BUSD (BUSD) $ 1.00
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 285.20
vechain
VeChain (VET) $ 0.021722
injective-protocol
Injective (INJ) $ 17.93
optimism
Optimism (OP) $ 1.69
quant-network
Quant (QNT) $ 101.46
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 100.04
maker
Maker (MKR) $ 1,546.81
the-graph
The Graph (GRT) $ 0.146979
render-token
Render (RNDR) $ 3.52