The Bitcoin Trap Part II

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

A Christmas party doesn't seem at first the place to look for a sinister network that kidnaps people to mine Bitcoins with their brains, but when that party is a private event, with invitation only access and a ridiculously high level of security, then we maybe unto something. The gathering point was an exclusive hotel in Saint-Tropez. Getting the intel and the invitations required the use of our finest hacker skills, but we made it on time. My good friend Zirconia Starfighter chose an spectacular Christmas outfit that draw the attention of everyone, allowing me to proceed with discretion and avoid the heavily armed security detail. The hosts appeared just late enough to have all the guests waiting for their arrival. They were, like the guests, young and rich. The party, we found out, was not in the hotel, but in a luxury yacht. That fit with the policy of the network of not staying in one place for long.

Zirconia Starfighter, a brave and beautiful cyberwarrior

In the ship, while the hosts tried unsuccessfully to lure Zirconia Starfighter in their net, though I am not sure what they were more interested in, if her brain or her body, I took a trip to the "bathroom". A good enough excuse to wander around the place while pretending to be a bit drunk. Most guests were already fully immersed in the "digital paradise", a vastly overrated 3D simulator, where they were praised by rudimentary AIs and had fun playing blatant copies of famous videogames. Their bodies were watched carefully by most of the security guards, what allowed to find the servers and gain access to them. I could confirm that the party was one of the operations that the network had running around the world. Not only that but a list of incoming events with places, times and guests. I also learned their quite unsubtle name, Elysium. Zirconia Starfighter got plenty of info too, about the hosts, who were very happy to talk, and their network, which they see as a, wait for it, company that will disruptive how we experience reality. These days anything techno related must be disruptive. They have made the word totally meaningless.

I have waited to publish this entry until now, because with the intel we gathered, we have been able to strike major blows to their operations, saving hundreds of people in the process. For now, Elysium has retreated and we have heard they have asked for help to our old enemy, the nefarious Academy, but it's clear that we have made a new enemy, for all the right reasons.

You can follow and support my dear friend and ally Zirconia Starfighter in the following links:

• Official Website
• Facebok page
• Twitter: @Zirconia_Star
• Tumblr
• Instagram

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters

The Bitcoin Trap Part I

As my colleague and friend Patrick Von Steiner wrote last week, we have been investigating a massive international operation that lures people on false promises of enjoying a fully immersive virtual reality to use their brains to mine Bitcoins. Not just Zirconia Starfighter and myself, but also Masuimi Max, Alice Ayers, King Bluetooth... have been following clues all over the world. Many of them led nowhere but some of them proved valuable. We know that we are dealing with a big network that works for the highest bidder and has access to very advanced technology. The Evil Academy seems to allow them to operate with absolute immunity, what makes us think that they must be one of their clients.

Tracking the new menace

This network doesn't seem to have fixed headquarters or labs, to avoid detection by authorities less tolerating with their criminal enterprises that the corrupt Academy. We are narrowing their favorite areas of operations using missing cases of people of interest for them. Young tech savvy people disappointed with their lives are clearly their number one target. It's no wonder that we are tracking them now mostly in Silicon Valley, Tokyo and other areas known by their technology companies and shops. It should be obvious that we should be careful when offered promises as digital paradises or getting a glimpse of the singularity, but given the too often not very bright look of the present, we must remember that those promises are usually traps, like this one. Know that we are working hard to put an end to this Bitcoin trap.

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!, Gwen Marsters

The Bitcoin Trap

Zirconia Starfighter, cyberwarrior, ready to go fight injustice in the Deep Web

The sooner I write that we would be teaming up soon with the amazing Zirconia Starfigther to fight Evil lurking in the darkest corners of Internet, the sooner it happens. As you must probably know, the value of Bitcoin, the most famous cryptocurrency has been rising a lot lately, to the point that many are warning that the Bitcoin is a bubble that will eventually explode. The promise of a fast way to wealth has led many people to set all kinds of traps to use other people's computer to mine Bitcoins. For example, scripts embedded on websites that over the computer. But we are not here to talk about those traps, as they are easily blocked. We are concerned with far more nefarious ones.

Cyberwarrior Gwen Marsters doing techno magic with one of her tools.

We have detected traps to mine Bitcoins that have moved from CPUs or GPUs to brains of living beings, specially human beings. Right now, our reliable allies, the brave cyberwarriors Zirconia Starfighter and Gwen Marsters are tracking a massive operation that lures people on promises of tasting true immersive virtual reality to turn their brains into parts of a distributed living computer. We suspect that mining Bitcoins is just a test of its true potential. The minds behind these operation don't seem to have any kind of affiliation, so they may end up selling their services to the highest bidder. You can bet the farm that the Evil and supremely corrupt Academy will be interested in this computer. That why it's so vital that we put a stop to this atrocity. If you have any clue regarding this conspiracy against humanity feel free to write us. I trust our allies will lead us right to the criminal's doorsteps. We will keep you informed.

May the wise Isis guide and protect you!