Author: Geek Planet

(TNND) — The Secret Service says its card skimming operations prevented the theft of more than $400 million last year, but one cybersecurity expert warned consumers to keep their guard up and offered some advice for keeping personal financial information safe.The Secret Service said this week that it worked with federal, state and local law enforcement partners to inspect nearly 60,000 point-of-sale terminals, gas pumps and ATMs to uncover more than 400 illegal skimming devices in 2025.The operations, which spanned cities from Los Angeles to New York, prevented an estimated potential loss of more than $428.1 million, the Secret Service…

Russia is preparing to escalate its crackdown on unregistered cryptocurrency mining, proposing criminal penalties that include forced labor and prison sentences, little more than a year after formally legalizing the industry. The Ministry of Justice on Monday published draft amendments to the Criminal Code that would reclassify many forms of illegal crypto mining from an administrative offense into a criminal one.  The proposal comes amid widespread noncompliance with the regulatory framework that took effect in 2024, following President Vladimir Putin’s signing of mining legislation last summer. Although mining was legalized to bring the fast-growing sector out of the shadows, authorities…

Turkmenistan just legalized crypto mining and exchanges this year, marking a sharp policy shift for one of the world’s most closed economies and fulfilling legislation that was accepted in November, 2025.  President Serdar Berdimuhamedov signed the Law on Virtual Assets, bringing digital assets under civil law for the first time. The legislation creates a licensing regime for miners, exchanges, and custodial services overseen by the Central Bank of Turkmenistan. Cryptocurrencies will not yet be recognized as legal tender, currency, or securities. They cannot be used to pay for goods or services. The law defines virtual assets strictly as “property or…

Bitcoin’s price action in 2025 pointed to a market shaped less by speculative and impulsive excess and more by macro forces. The bitcoin price traded through a wide range last year. According to Bitcoin Magazine Pro data, bitcoin rallied above $126,000 during mid-to-late-year advances fueled by ETF inflows and optimism around U.S. regulatory clarity. Those highs did not hold. By the fourth quarter, tighter financial conditions and elevated real yields weighed on risk assets. The bitcoin price slid sharply from its peak and ended the year near $87,000. It is on track for its first full-year decline since 2022. While…

Fedi will release its full software stack as open source on Jan. 3, completing a pledge made at launch in 2024. The company said all Fedi software has now transitioned to the Affero General Public License (AGPL), following an interim period under a business source license.  The change makes Fedi’s codebase publicly available under a copyleft license that requires derivative works to remain open, according to a spokesperson from Fedi.  The date carries weight in Bitcoin history. Jan. 3 marks the anniversary of the Bitcoin genesis block, mined in 2009. Fedi said the timing reflects its focus on community ownership…

It seems that the U.S. Marshall Service (USMS) has sold the $6.3 million worth of bitcoin that Samourai Wallet developers Keonne Rodriguez and William Lonergan Hill paid the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) as a fee that was part of their guilty plea. In doing so, it has potentially violated Executive Order (EO) 14233, which mandates that bitcoin acquired via criminal or civil asset forfeiture proceedings should be held as part of the United States’ Strategy Bitcoin Reserve (SBR). If the Southern District of New York (SDNY), the federal judicial district in which the Samourai case was to be tried,…

For Arunava Sen, a network must connect and understand a world increasingly defined by digital interactions. It must evolve from a mere conduit to an intelligent entity that adapts to each user’s needs, providing security, scalability, and seamless integration across platforms.As Tata Communication’s Director of Solutions Engineering, Arunava Sen’s work in persona-based networking is set to transform the future of open networks. His approach, which integrates elements of artificial intelligence (AI), cloud-native technologies, and blockchain, aims to change how networks interact with the myriad of devices and users they connect.Persona-Based NetworkingThe concept of persona-based networking represents a notable shift in…

Some iPhone users are complaining that their battery life is suddenly dying – there’s simple reason why.Dave Snelling Technology Editor08:19, 17 Sep 2025Updated 08:57, 17 Sep 2025iPhone battery life (Image: GETTY)If you’ve suddenly noticed your iPhone’s battery icon glowing red way faster than normal, there could be a pretty simple explanation and an easy way to fix it. Apple has just released its latest iOS 26 operating system, and if you’ve installed it on your device, you can expect to see the power drain a little faster than normal.Now, don’t panic. This isn’t some trick from Apple aimed at getting…

With CES 2026 only a few days away, a massive leak has basically spoiled HP’s entire surprise. A full product roadmap, first spotted by Windowslatest, has hit the web, detailing a huge wave of refreshes for everything from business laptops and Chromebooks to high-end gaming rigs and accessories. The leak even includes high-res photos and final product names, giving us a very clear look at how HP plans to dominate the “AI PC” conversation this year. HP’s big theme for 2026 is clearly “AI for everyone” Almost every Windows laptop in the leaked materials is running Windows 11 with the…

All Samsung users have been urged to check their devices without delay and download the latest update.Dave Snelling Technology Editor07:31, 18 Sep 2025Updated 07:32, 18 Sep 2025Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra(Image: SAMSUNG • GETTY)Anyone with a Galaxy phone in their possession would be wise to check their settings and download the latest update without delay. It’s been confirmed that an important patch has been released by Samsung, which fixes over 11 issues on these popular devices. That might sound bad, but things get worse. One of the glitches has a ‘critical’ rating, with hackers already aware of it and using it in…