Tech this week: $ 610 million Poly Network crypto theft, tighter checks for teens on TikTok

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The hackers behind one of the biggest digital coin heists have now returned almost all of the $ 610 million and over (€ 518.1 million) they stole, Poly Network said Thursday, the cryptocurrency platform targeted earlier this week in the attack.

The platform, which was little known before Tuesday’s heist, called the hacker a “white hat” on Twitter, a term associated with ethical hackers who typically aim to expose cyber vulnerabilities rather than take money. for personal use.

Poly Network, which facilitates peer-to-peer crypto transactions, added that the tokens have been transferred to a multi-signature wallet controlled by both the platform and the hacker.

The only remaining tokens that have yet to be returned are the $ 33 million (€ 28 million) in Tether stablecoins frozen earlier in the week by cryptocurrency firm Tether Limited, Poly Network said.

“The refund process is not yet complete. To ensure the safe recovery of user assets, we hope to maintain communication with Mr. White Hat and pass accurate information to the public,” Poly Network said on Twitter.

A person claiming to have carried out the hack said Poly Network offered him a bounty of $ 500,000 (€ 424,700) to return the stolen assets and promised that he would not be responsible for the incident, according to shared messages on Twitter by Tom Robinson, Chief Scientist and Co-Founder of Elliptic, a crypto tracking company.

The theft illustrates the risks of the largely unregulated decentralized finance (DeFi) industry, crypto experts said. DeFi platforms allow users to transact, usually in cryptocurrency, without traditional gatekeepers such as banks or exchanges.

Stricter rules for kids on TikTok

TikTok announced new restrictions on teenage users to better protect them from dangers associated with social media, such as bullying or lack of sleep.

“We think it’s important to be even more proactive in keeping teens safe,” the company said.

TikTok has built its popularity on the basis of short-lived video content, with its primary audience being young people in their teens and early twenties.

Despite strict rules against any content that sexualizes or exploits children, the platform is regularly criticized for failing to protect young people from online predators.

As part of the new changes, direct messaging will be disabled by default for 16-17 year olds. However, they will not be prohibited from using the feature, but will need to explicitly give permission to access it.

Teens in general will be encouraged to pay more attention to who can see the videos they download and those under 16 will be forced to choose who can see their videos – subscribers, friends or no one.

TikTok will also limit push notifications. 13-15 year olds will not receive notifications after 9 p.m. and 16-17 year olds after 10 p.m. He says this feature is meant to encourage more restful nights for teens.

Twitter launches a new overhaul

Twitter introduced a revamped version of its website and app this week. The company says this will make it more accessible, less cluttered, and easier to use.

Among the changes is the introduction of Twitter’s original new font called Chirp. It’s also updated its colors to be “high contrast and much less blue – a change made to draw attention to the photos and videos you create and share.”

There are less gray backgrounds and separation lines. It also increased the space to make the text easier to read.

The changes should prepare the company for the list of new features it intends to roll out.

Super Follow is expected to be introduced soon. This is a subscription service with a similar idea to Patreon, where subscribers will pay a monthly subscription to a creator and have access to additional content. It is also testing ecommerce functionality in the United States, and there has been more emphasis on audio through Twitter Spaces.

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