Latest news with #Koven
Sky News
27-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Sky News
Upskirted, assaulted, accused of faking their music skills: Why female DJs need to be 'bulletproof'
To see Koven's Katie Boyle perform live is beyond impressive. Hailing from Luton, she is one of the most influential women in drum 'n' bass today, an artist who pioneered the art of singing live while DJing. Although she's now been doing it for 12 years, her vast knowledge doesn't silence the trolls online. "There is a real bad misogyny online against women," she says of the industry, with plenty of critics refusing to "believe they're doing what they say they're doing, and that's been quite a hard thing to combat". Koven is a duo. In the studio, Boyle collaborates with producer Max Rowat; live, she performs and mixes alone. They have just released their second album, Moments In Everglow. While both Boyle and Rowat are equally involved in making tracks, a minority of very vocal fans still refuse to accept she does anything other than sing. "I will always be accused of the male half doing more on anything to do with technology," says Boyle. "The amount of comments [I get] to say, 'she didn't make this'. No explanation as to why they think that it is, just purely because [I'm] a woman, which is just mad." While Boyle loves performing live, there are moments, she admits, where being one of the few women on the scene can feel unsafe. "I've had some awful incidences," she says. "I had someone run on stage and completely grab me, hand down my top, down my trousers, while I was on the stage, which is crazy because you think that's happening in front of an audience. I mean, this guy literally had to be plied off me. "That was when I did think, 'I need to bring someone with me to most places'. I didn't feel safe travelling around by myself." 'You get trolled for everything' Sadly, Boyle isn't alone. Over a 30-year career, DJ Paulette has scaled the heights of dance music fame, playing throughout Europe, with a residency back in the day at Manchester's Hacienda. "Let's just say I have two towels on my rider and it's not just because I sweat a lot," she jokes, miming a whack for those around her. "I've spent time in DJ booths where I've had a skirt on and people have been taking pictures up my skirt. People think upskirting is a joke... and I got fed up with it." Wearing shorts, she says, she still ended with "people with their hands all over me". Now, she sticks to trousers. "But we shouldn't have to alter the way we look for the environment that we work in." She admits, in order to stick it out, she's had to bulletproof herself. "You get trolled for everything, for the way you look - if you put on weight, if you've lost weight." Not only is the discourse towards female DJs different online, she says, she has also been repeatedly told by those working in the industry that because she's a woman, she has a sell-by date. "I went for dinner with three guys... one of them said to me, 'you know Paulette there is no promoter or organiser who is ever going to employ a black female DJ with grey hair', and they all laughed. "That was them saying to me that my career was over, and I was in my 40s. At the time, I felt crushed... I think it really does take women who have a real steel will to make their way through." 'I will not stop talking about it' As the great and the good of the dance world gather in Ibiza for the industry's annual International Music Summit, with dance music more popular than ever there is of course much to party about. But for BBC Radio 1 broadcaster and DJ Jaguar, one of this year's summit's cohosts, some serious conversations also need to be had. "You can get off the plane and look at the billboards around Ibiza and it's basically white men - David Guetta, Calvin Harris, and they are incredible artists in their own right - but the women headliners, there's barely any visibility of them, it's awful." She adds: "I will not stop talking about it because it is the reality." Trolling and safety are also big concerns. "You're in these green rooms, there's a lot of people there, drinking and doing other things... and I've walked into green rooms where I felt incredibly uncomfortable, especially when I was a bit younger. I was on my own, it's like 2am, and you have to watch yourself." Male DJs don't have the same stories She says she has female friends who have had drinks spiked when they were DJing. But her male friends? "They don't have the same stories to tell me." Creamfields, arguably the UK's biggest dance festival, is emblematic of the gender imbalance. It remains one of the least representative festivals in terms of female artists, with last year's line-up more than 80% male. Laila MacKenzie, founder of Lady Of The House, a community that supports and tries to encourage more women into dance music, says the talent pipeline problem isn't helped by the current discourse online. "There is a real damaging factor how people can be really nasty online and really nasty in the media and how that actually may discourage and demotivate women from stepping forward into their talent," she says. In reality, for so many women working within dance music, the trolling can be so unpleasant that it's drowning out the good. "There is so much positivity and so many lovely and supportive people," says Boyle. "But unfortunately it feels like the negative and the toxic energy is just louder sometimes."
Khaleej Times
20-02-2025
- Business
- Khaleej Times
Scammers target job seekers as fraud ecosystem becomes ‘industrialised'
Scammers received at least $9.9 billion in crypto revenues from their illicit activities, recent research shows. According to Chainalysis' 2025 Crypto Crime Report, this figure is estimated to rise to an all-time high of $12.4 billion as ongoing analysis uncovers more illicit activity. Chainalysis' findings also highlighted high-yield investment scams (50 per cent) and pig butchering (33 per cent) to be the two most prevalent fraud and scam types. Interestingly, despite pulling in half of all scam revenue in 2024, high-yield investment scam inflows declined by 36 per cent YoY. On the other hand, pig butchering revenue increased by almost 40 per cent YoY, and the number of deposits to pig butchering scams grew nearly 210 per cent YoY, potentially indicating an expansion of the victim pool. Conversely, the average deposit amount to pig butchering scams declined 55 per cent YoY. A pig butchering scam is a type of investment fraud where scammers build trust with victims over time before convincing them to invest in fake opportunities — often related to cryptocurrency, forex trading, or stocks. The term comes from the idea of 'fattening up the pig before slaughter,' meaning scammers groom their victims emotionally and financially before stealing their money. Jacqueline Burns Koven, head of cyber threat intelligence at Chainalysis said: 'The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a change in strategy for pig butchering scams. Scammers could be spending less time priming targets, and therefore, receiving smaller payments, in exchange for targeting more victims.' This evolution of scammers' strategies is further evidenced in the growing number of employment or work-from-home scams that Chainalysis researchers observed. Though employment scam inflows represented less than one per cent of total on-chain value that scams received last year, thousands of people have unwittingly paid into fake job platforms. 'On the back of landmark initiatives, such as the UAE government's recent 'Remote Working in the UAE' report, the country's job market can be expected to see a rise in remote and hybrid work opportunities. While the majority of these will be legitimate, scammers will no doubt be keen to take advantage. The tools and techniques they have been honing in recent years with romance scams, can be easily adapted to now trick anxious, perhaps vulnerable, job seekers,' Koven stated. A major contributor to the growth in pig butchering and employment scams is the ongoing 'industrialisation' of the fraud ecosystem, epitomised in the staggering $375.9 million in cryptocurrency payments made to scam technology vendors on Huione Guarantee in 2024 alone, one of the most prolific marketplaces for illicit tools and services. When comparing crypto flows from 2021 through 2024 based on a compound annual growth rate, Huione scam infrastructure providers' revenue has increased exponentially, with AI service vendors' revenue growing by 1900 per cent, indicating an explosion in the use of AI technology to facilitate scams. These AI vendors offer technology that helps scammers impersonate others or generate realistic content that tricks victims. Through 2024, Chainalysis also tracked nearly $95 million in crypto payments to data vendors on the marketplace. These vendors sell stolen data such as personally identifiable information (PII) that bad actors can exploit for illicit purposes, often with information on 'quick kill' targets i.e. potential victims who are most susceptible to being scammed. 'With easy access to comprehensive victim databases, and AI-powered tools, scammers are better equipped than ever. It's time to move past the outdated notion of scammers as unsophisticated opportunists and recognise fraud as the thriving, highly organised ecosystem it is today. Effectively disrupting and dismantling it will require a coordinated effort from regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector,' added Koven. 'Both fraud detection and compliance rely on granular, real-time data. Efforts to combat scams must focus on both prevention and enforcement, requiring stronger investigative resources and greater enablement of government agencies and local authorities. As scams continue to evolve, investigators need access to deeper intelligence, faster insights, and specialised expertise to detect and disrupt these emerging threats,' Koven said.
TECHx
14-02-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Crypto Scams Surge in 2024, Projected to Reach $12.4 Billion, Says Chainalysis News Desk - 14/02/2025 Share2024 is poised to be a record-breaking year for crypto scams, with at least US$9.9 billion in illicit revenue, a figure expected to climb to a staggering US$12.4 billion as more fraudulent activities are uncovered. This is part of the 2025 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis, which highlights high-yield investment scams (50%) and pig butchering (33%) as the leading fraud types.Despite high-yield investment scams accounting for half of all scam revenues in 2024, their inflows have dropped by 36% year-over-year (YoY). In contrast, pig butchering scams have seen a 40% YoY revenue increase, with the number of deposits growing by nearly 210%, suggesting an expanding victim pool. However, the average deposit amount to these scams has decreased by 55% YoY.Jacqueline Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, commented, 'The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a change in strategy for pig butchering scams. Scammers may be targeting more victims, but with smaller amounts.'The research also points to the rise of employment or work-from-home scams, with scammers increasingly adapting tactics used in romance scams to target vulnerable job seekers. Although employment scams represent less than 1% of total scam revenue, they have caused thousands of people to lose money to fake job platforms.Koven added, 'With the UAE's ‘Remote Working in the UAE' initiative, the market for remote and hybrid jobs will rise. While most will be legitimate, scammers are ready to exploit anxious job seekers.'A key driver of the rise in pig butchering and employment scams is the growing 'industrialization' of the fraud ecosystem. In 2024, cryptocurrency payments to scam technology vendors on Huione Guarantee reached US$375.9 million. This marketplace, known for illicit tools, has seen an explosive growth in AI service vendors, with revenues increasing by 1900% since 2021. These vendors provide AI-powered technology that helps scammers impersonate others or generate realistic content to deceive victims.Additionally, Chainalysis tracked nearly US$95 million in payments to data vendors on the marketplace, which sell stolen personally identifiable information (PII) used for scams. 'With easy access to victim databases and AI-powered tools, scammers are better equipped than ever,' said Koven. 'Fraud is no longer an unsophisticated act; it's a thriving, organized ecosystem.'To combat this growing threat, Koven stressed the need for a coordinated effort from regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector. She emphasized the importance of real-time data, stronger investigative resources, and faster insights to disrupt emerging scams.As scammers continue to evolve, disrupting their operations will require enhanced collaboration and expertise across all sectors.
Crypto Scams Surge in 2024, Projected to Reach $12.4 Billion, Says Chainalysis 2024 is poised to be a record-breaking year for crypto scams, with at least US$9.9 billion in illicit revenue, a figure expected to climb to a staggering US$12.4 billion as more fraudulent activities are uncovered. This is part of the 2025 Crypto Crime Report by Chainalysis, which highlights high-yield investment scams (50%) and pig butchering (33%) as the leading fraud types. Despite high-yield investment scams accounting for half of all scam revenues in 2024, their inflows have dropped by 36% year-over-year (YoY). In contrast, pig butchering scams have seen a 40% YoY revenue increase, with the number of deposits growing by nearly 210%, suggesting an expanding victim pool. However, the average deposit amount to these scams has decreased by 55% YoY. Jacqueline Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, commented, 'The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a change in strategy for pig butchering scams. Scammers may be targeting more victims, but with smaller amounts.' The research also points to the rise of employment or work-from-home scams, with scammers increasingly adapting tactics used in romance scams to target vulnerable job seekers. Although employment scams represent less than 1% of total scam revenue, they have caused thousands of people to lose money to fake job platforms. Koven added, 'With the UAE's 'Remote Working in the UAE' initiative, the market for remote and hybrid jobs will rise. While most will be legitimate, scammers are ready to exploit anxious job seekers.' A key driver of the rise in pig butchering and employment scams is the growing 'industrialization' of the fraud ecosystem. In 2024, cryptocurrency payments to scam technology vendors on Huione Guarantee reached US$375.9 million. This marketplace, known for illicit tools, has seen an explosive growth in AI service vendors, with revenues increasing by 1900% since 2021. These vendors provide AI-powered technology that helps scammers impersonate others or generate realistic content to deceive victims. Additionally, Chainalysis tracked nearly US$95 million in payments to data vendors on the marketplace, which sell stolen personally identifiable information (PII) used for scams. 'With easy access to victim databases and AI-powered tools, scammers are better equipped than ever,' said Koven. 'Fraud is no longer an unsophisticated act; it's a thriving, organized ecosystem.' To combat this growing threat, Koven stressed the need for a coordinated effort from regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector. She emphasized the importance of real-time data, stronger investigative resources, and faster insights to disrupt emerging scams. As scammers continue to evolve, disrupting their operations will require enhanced collaboration and expertise across all sectors.
Channel Post MEA
14-02-2025
- Business
- Channel Post MEA
Pig Butchering Scams Surge 40% in 2024: Chainalysis
2024 is set to be a record-year for scammers who received at least US$9.9 billion in crypto revenues from their illicit activities – a figure that is estimated to rise to an all-time high of US$12.4billion as ongoing analysis uncovers more illicit activity. These findings are part of Chainalysis' 2025 Crypto Crime Report research into scams, which also highlighted high-yield investment scams (50%) and pig butchering (33%) to be the two most prevalent fraud and scam types. Interestingly, despite pulling in half of all scam revenue in 2024, high-yield investment scam inflows declined by 36% YoY. On the other hand, pig butchering revenue increased by almost 40% YoY, and the number of deposits to pig butchering scams grew nearly 210% YoY, potentially indicating an expansion of the victim pool. Conversely, the average deposit amount to pig butchering scams declined 55% YoY. Offering insight into these findings, Jacqueline Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis said, 'The combination of lower payment amounts and increased deposits could indicate a change in strategy for pig butchering scams. Scammers could be spending less time priming targets, and therefore, receiving smaller payments, in exchange for targeting more victims.' This evolution of scammers' strategies is further evidenced in the growing number of employment or work-from-home scams that Chainalysis researchers observed. Though employment scam inflows represented less than 1% of total on-chain value that scams received last year, thousands of people have unwittingly paid into fake job platforms. 'On the back of landmark initiatives, such as the UAE government's recent ' Remote Working in the UAE' report, the country's job market can be expected to see a rise in remote and hybrid work opportunities. While the majority of these will be legitimate, scammers will no doubt be keen to take advantage. The tools and techniques they have been honing in recent years with romance scams, can be easily adapted to now trick anxious, perhaps vulnerable, job seekers,' Koven stated. A major contributor to the growth in pig butchering and employment scams is the ongoing 'industrialisation' of the fraud ecosystem, epitomised in the staggering US$375.9 million in cryptocurrency payments made to scam technology vendors on Huione Guarantee in 2024 alone, one of the most prolific marketplaces for illicit tools and services. When comparing crypto flows from 2021 through 2024 based on a compound annual growth rate, Huione scam infrastructure providers' revenue has increased exponentially, with AI service vendors' revenue growing by 1900%, indicating an explosion in the use of AI technology to facilitate scams. These AI vendors offer technology that helps scammers impersonate others or generate realistic content that tricks victims. Through 2024, Chainalysis also tracked nearly US$95million in crypto payments to data vendors on the marketplace. These vendors sell stolen data such as personally identifiable information (PII) that bad actors can exploit for illicit purposes, often with information on 'quick kill' targets i.e. potential victims who are most susceptible to being scammed. 'With easy access to comprehensive victim databases, and AI-powered tools, scammers are better equipped than ever. It's time to move past the outdated notion of scammers as unsophisticated opportunists and recognise fraud as the thriving, highly organised ecosystem it is today. Effectively disrupting and dismantling it will require a coordinated effort from regulators, law enforcement, and the private sector,' added Koven. 'Both fraud detection and compliance rely on granular, real-time data. Efforts to combat scams must focus on both prevention and enforcement, requiring stronger investigative resources and greater enablement of government agencies and local authorities. As scams continue to evolve, investigators need access to deeper intelligence, faster insights, and specialized expertise to detect and disrupt these emerging threats,' Koven concluded. 0 0
TECHx
08-02-2025
- Business
- TECHx
Ransomware Payments Drop 35% in 2024 Despite Rising Cyberattacks - TECHx Media Ransomware Payments Drop 35% in 2024 Despite Rising Cyberattacks
Ransomware Payments Drop 35% in 2024 Despite Rising Cyberattacks In a significant shift for cybersecurity, ransomware payments fell sharply by 35% in 2024, even as cybercriminals continued to target victims aggressively. This decline comes after a record-breaking year in 2023, when ransomware gangs extorted $1.25 billion, and a 2.38% year-on-year increase in stolen funds during the first half of 2024. However, the latter half of the year saw a dramatic reversal, with overall ransomware payouts dropping to $813 million, according to the Chainalysis 2025 Crypto Crime Report. The report highlights a record-breaking $75 million ransom paid by an undisclosed victim to the Dark Angels group, showcasing the high stakes of ransomware attacks. Despite this outlier, the broader trend points to growing resilience against cybercriminals. Jacqueline Burns Koven, Head of Cyber Threat Intelligence at Chainalysis, credited the decline to 'the effectiveness of law enforcement actions, improved international collaboration, and a growing refusal by victims to cave into attackers' demands.' One of the most notable trends in 2024 was the widening gap between ransom demands and actual payouts. In the second half of the year, the difference reached 53%, indicating that while attackers continued to target victims, fewer organizations opted to pay. Additionally, despite an increase in ransomware incidents, the number of on-chain payments declined, suggesting that more victims are resisting extortion attempts. When payments were made, ransoms typically ranged between $150,000 and $250,000, regardless of the attackers' initial demands. Cybercriminals also faced challenges in laundering their illicit gains. Law enforcement actions, such as the sanctioning of Russia-based Cryptex exchange and the German Federal Criminal Police's (BKA) seizure of 47 no-KYC crypto exchanges in September 2024, disrupted their ability to convert crypto into fiat currency. Chainalysis data further revealed that ransomware groups are increasingly holding stolen funds in personal wallets, likely due to fears of being traced and prosecuted. While the decline in ransomware payments is a positive development, Chainalysis warns against complacency. The ransomware landscape is now dominated by groups targeting low- to mid-value payments, with smaller businesses increasingly in the crosshairs. Koven emphasized the importance of protecting these organizations, noting that in the UAE, for example, over half a million SMEs contribute 63% of the nation's non-oil GDP. 'Sustained collaboration and innovative defenses are essential to build on the progress made in 2024 and ensure all organizations remain protected,' she said. The findings from Chainalysis highlight the importance of continued vigilance and international cooperation in combating ransomware. While the decline in payments is encouraging, the evolving tactics of cybercriminals underscore the need for robust cybersecurity measures, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As ransomware threats persist, businesses and governments must remain proactive in their efforts to safeguard critical infrastructure and economic stability. The progress made in 2024 demonstrates the power of collaboration, but the fight against cybercrime is far from over. For the latest updates on cybersecurity trends and ransomware prevention, stay tuned to our coverage.
