Pi Network Mobile Mining App CyberSecurity Data Leak - Exclusive.
2021-05-17 | Mike Hallen
Pi Network – a renowned crypto mining app for mobile users, might
be associated with 17GB worth
of private data leaks, a Vietnamese media outlet reported earlier today on Monday.
The treasure trove
of private data was apparently taken from the KYC, checks from users of Pi Network,
consistent with the
one that posted it to hacker hangout, Raidforums, on 13
th May.
The identity cards of an estimated 10k Vietnamese citizens were placed on sale,
alongside linked home addresses, phone numbers & email addresses.
The vendor placed a
tag of $9k on the data, payable in either Bitcoin [
BTC] or Litecoin [LTC].
Phien Vo, a moderator of a Vietnamese Pi Network group chat channel,
told VnExpress that Pi Network’s KYC checks are performed by
a 3rd party, adding that Vietnamese identity cards like those in question aren’t compatible with the application. Moreover, Vo did add that an older version of the app was compatible with these cards at one point.
“To perform KYC verification on Pi Network, Vietnamese might wish to use their passports. Just some users who used earlier versions of Pi could perform KYC verification using their driver licenses, but
thus far the system has yet
to simply accept Vietnamese identity cards,” Vo outlined.
Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security's cybersecurity division has since launched an investigation into the matter.
An independent
investigation into Pi Network’s perceived value was recently conducted by Cem Dilmegani, tech entrepreneur and
founder of AIMultiple. Written weeks
before the recent data leak, the review revealed that Pi Network bore the hallmarks of an MLM scheme, or an affiliate marketing program.
The Pi app reportedly demands users log in
each day and click on a button to receive their PI coins. No blockchain consensus algorithm like PoW or PoS
is employed within the app, and users can gain increased mining rates by referring
people. The PI token
isn't yet traded on exchanges and has no dollar value.
The app reportedly sells data for advertising revenue from
the instant its usage begins.
As long as ad space can sell for
a better value with personal user info included, many
are led
to take a position that the Pi app
is meant only to siphon personally-identifying info from its users.
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