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Nifty News: The Flash goes Web3, Yuga Labs still working hard on ‘audacious’ Otherside project and more

July 15, 2023 Coin Telegraph

The Sandbox added a new major IP to its virtual world, a portfolio management startup raised $3.6 million and The Flash is getting NFTs.

Warner’s The Flash goes Web3, to a lack of applause…

Warner Bros.’ nonfungible token (NFT) unit has unveiled a new Web3 experience for the recently released DC Comics superhero movie, The Flash, which reportedly flopped at the box office.

According to an announcement from Warner Bros. Digital Collectibles, The Flash Web3 Movie Experience will launch on July 18 and include NFT collections, augmented reality experiences, access to behind-the-scenes content and the entire film in 4K ultra HD, to name a few.

*The Flash Web3 experience. Source: Warner Bros. Digital Collectibles.*

The project will be hosted on the Eluvio blockchain, which Warner Bros. has used in the past for similar Superman and The Lord of the Rings Web3 experiences.

The experience is being packaged as part of two different mystery bag editions, Mystery and Premium.

The Mystery edition will cost $35 and the Premium edition will cost $100, with the latter containing greater benefits and a shot at getting seemingly better NFTs.

Over on Twitter, the community reaction wasn’t overly enthusiastic.

It’s official, The Flash is the first new release movie to hit the blockchain! pic.twitter.com/sScukkA6Fw
— Warner Bros. Digital Collectibles (@WarnerBrosNFT) July 14, 2023

The top comment from user Satvik Sethi has 1,649 likes at the time of writing and simply states: “Pay your writers, and stop cash-grabbing Web3.”

Another user sarcastically wrote: “Wow, the Flash traveled back to 2021,” in reference to the manic NFT bull market of that year, while Twitter user Simon suggested that Warner Bros. needs to “fire” whoever is running their Web3 department.

*Snarky comments in response to The Flash Web3 experience. Source: Twitter*

Yuga Labs focusing on Otherside metaverse amid BAYC downturn

With the floor price of the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) NFTs tanking in 2023, Yuga Labs CEO Daniel Alegre has emphasized that the firm is working hard to build out its Otherside metaverse project.

Speaking at Fortune’s Brainstorm Tech conference on July 13, Alegre kept his cards close to his chest but outlined that Yuga’s plans for Otherside are “audacious” and, as such, will “take time” to come to fruition.

*BAYC NFT floor price. Source: NFT Price Floor.*

So far, Otherside has only been available for a couple of early access trips for the BAYC community, and it remains to be seen when the project will officially launch.

Providing a little more information, Alegre said that Otherside will “bring communities together” and “bring new and innovative Web3-based experiences starting with gaming.”

“As an NFT holder, you will be able to participate in drawing what we’re building, which is this Otherside metaverse,” he said.

Roi raises $3.6 million to build out app that compiles crypto alongside NFT holdings

On July 13, investment application startup Roi announced a $3.6 million funding round to develop its portfolio manager app.

The funding round was led by Spark Capital and included participation from NBA and Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant’s venture capital firm, 35 Ventures, and Google’s Gradient Ventures, to name a few.

The Roi app enables users to track their stock, crypto and NFT holdings all in one place, as it can compile balances from a host of crypto/Web3 wallets to give the user a clear picture of their net worth.

It also allows users to trade across its list of supported brokerages and crypto wallets.

*Roi app mobile interface. Source: Apple Store*

The startup plans to use the capital to help increase its headcount from the current five team members, expand product offerings, and hire legal and security experts.

Magnificent Century coming to The Sandbox

A widely popular Turkish TV series called Magnificent Century has partnered with The Sandbox to bring its intellectual property (IP) to the metaverse.

According to a July 14 article from Variety, the partnership was announced via a global launch event in Paris earlier in the week.

Turkish Hit Series 'Magnificent Century' Set For Launch on The Sandbox Metaverse https://t.co/wAwSFiID0l
— Variety (@Variety) July 14, 2023

As part of the partnership, The Sandbox users will be able to get their hands on 3D avatars depicting Magnificent Century characters by late 2023.

The TV series has reportedly had over 500 million viewers globally, and it marked the second major TV show IP to enter The Sandbox after The Walking Dead in 2021 .

“We’re excited to welcome such a globally acclaimed Turkish series as ‘Magnificent Century’ at The Sandbox and further strengthen our growing presence in this important region,” said The Sandbox chief operating officer and co-founder Sebastien Borget at the event.

Other Nifty News

The Google Play store now allows video game publishers to sell NFT games in its store, according to a July 12 blog post from the store’s group product manager, Joseph Mills.

Blockchain gaming startup Spielworks recently partnered with the Web3 platform Mycelium Network to launch a program that allows full refunds for NFT purchases.

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Crypto app targeting SharkBot malware resurfaces on Google app store

September 5, 2022 Coin Telegraph

The SharkBot malware family was first discovered last October, and has continued to evolve with new ways to hack into users' Android-based crypto and bank apps.

A newly upgraded version of a banking and crypto app targeting malware has recently resurfaced on the Google Play store, now with the capability to steal cookies from account logins and bypass fingerprint or authentication requirements.

A warning about the new version of the malware was shared by malware analyst Alberto Segura and treat intelligence analyst Mike Stokkel on Twitter accounts on Sept. 2, sharing their co-authored article on the Fox IT blog.

We discovered a new version of #SharkbotDropper in Google Play used to download and install #Sharkbot! The found droppers were used in a campaign targeting UK and IT! Great work @Mike_stokkel! https://t.co/uXt7qgcCXb
— Alberto Segura (@alberto__segura) September 2, 2022

According to Segura, the new version of the malware was discovered on Aug. 22, and can “perform overlay attacks, steal data through keylogging, intercept SMS messages, or give threat actors complete remote control of the host device by abusing the Accessibility Services.”

The new malware version was found in two Android apps — “Mister Phone Cleaner” and “Kylhavy Mobile Security,” which have since amassed 50,000 and 10,000 downloads respectively.

The two apps were able to initially make it to the Play Store as Google’s automated code review did not detect any malicious code, though it has since been removed from the store.

Some observers suggest that users who installed the apps may still be at risk and should remove the apps manually.

An in-depth analysis by Italian-based security firm Cleafy found that 22 targets had been identified by SharkBot, which included five cryptocurrency exchanges and a number of international banks in the U.S., U.K., and Italy.

As for the malware’s mode of attack, the earlier version of the SharkBot malware “relied on accessibility permissions to automatically perform the installation of the dropper SharkBot malware.”

But this new version is different in that it “asks the victim to install the malware as a fake update for the antivirus to stay protected against threats.”

Once installed, should a victim log into their bank or crypto account, SharkBot is able to snatch their valid session cookie via the command “logsCookie,” which essentially bypasses any fingerprinting or authentication methods used.

This is interesting!
Sharkbot Android malware is cancelling the "Log in with your fingerprint" dialogs so that users are forced to enter the username and password
(according to @foxit blog post) pic.twitter.com/fmEfM5h8Gu
— Łukasz (@maldr0id) September 3, 2022

The first version of the SharkBot malware was first discovered by Cleafy in October 2021.

According to Cleafy’s first analysis of SharkBot, the main goal of SharkBot was “to initiate money transfers from the compromised devices via Automatic Transfer Systems (ATS) technique bypassing multi-factor authentication mechanisms.”

Google Play Store