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09.05.19 3 NEWS LIAM CARTER MALTESE regulators are await- ing information from Binance, one of the world's largest crypto- currency exchamges, following a hacking attack that cost the company €35 million, Business Today has learned. In a statement early on Wednesday, Binance said 7,000 Bitcoins were stolen after hack- ers managed to infi ltrate its in- frastructure including two-fac- tor authentication which is required to log in to a Binance account. e company said the transac- tion was structured in a way that passed existing security checks. "It was unfortunate that we were not able to block this with- drawal before it was executed. Once executed, the withdrawal triggered various alarms in our system. We stopped all with- drawals immediately after that," it said. Binance said it would cover ful- ly the incident and that no user would be aff ected. Parliamentary Secretary for Digital Innovation Silvio Schem- bri told BusinessToday Maltese regulators had requested spe- cifi c information from Binance as the crypto exchange was still transitioning to Malta and there- fore not yet licensed by the local authorities. Asked if this hacking attack raises questions as to crypto- currency security, Schembri said sophisticated cyber attacks were not limited to just cryptocurren- cy but could aff ect practically every company. "Hacking is not limited to cryp- tocurrencies and as we have ex- perienced recently, even the se- curity systems of a Maltese bank were breached," he said. "Bi- nance is a private company, and they have already announced a full-scale investigation on Tues- day's attack." Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao said deposits and with- drawals will be suspended for a week as technical staff conduct- ed a review and rolled out sys- tem upgrades. e Hong Kong-based crypto exchange announced its move to Malta in late 2018, after it was barred from operating in China. Following its inception, it grew quickly to becoming the largest exchange by January 2018, and now holds one of the highest cryptocurrency trading vol- umes. Much of Binance's success of Binance is attributed to its abil- ity to maintain a healthy balance between market buyers and sellers, protecting volatile price swings. In addition, Binance of- fers a wide range of trading op- tions; there are currently over 160 altcoins available to be trad- ed against Bitcoin on Binance. Liam Carter FILM Commissioner Johann Grech has described 'as politically motivat- ed' claims by industry insiders who warned that foreign fi lm producers were being put off Malta by the ex- cessive development, lack of trained and skilled personnel and rising rent prices. Business Today reported last week that local producers and agents were claiming Malta was no longer an at- tractive and viable destination for foreign fi lmmakers because of these shortcomings. But Grech dismissed the claims categiorically and said the accusations were "deliberately orchestrated by po- litically motivated industry insiders, who fail to take off their party col- our-tinted glasses". He said this very dishonourable since such claims - probably aimed at harm- ing him and the local fi lm industry, he said - were proving harmful to work- ers in the industry and their families. "It's crazy," Grech said. "I must have met with over 400 producers from across the globe, and none of them, not one, has complained about these so-called 'industry challenges'." He also reiterated the government's full commitment to making Malta's one of the biggest fi lm industries in the world. " e government is one hundred percent committed to making Malta the best," Grech said. "After decades of inactivity, we have now received huge investments, which will help us reach and attain this goal," said Grech. Malta Film Commissioner slams 'politically motivated' fearmongering Johann Grech: committed to making Malta's film industry the best Regulators awaiting clarifications from Binance following hacking report

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