HONGKONG: The death of Gerald Cotton, 30, the Chief Operating Officer (CEO) of Quadirga and co-founder of Canada’s biggest crypto currency exchange, having a sole password, has left a huge stash of crypto currencies locked off from the people who own them. He died because of complications arising from Crohn’s disease while traveling in India, according to CNN.
Quadriga, which is based on Vancouver, has said it’s unable to gain access to $145 million of bitcoin and other digital assets, according to CNN. Many of the digital currencies held by Quadriga are stored offline in accounts known as “cold wallets,” a way of protecting them from hackers. Cotten is the only person with access to the wallets, according to the company.

Cotten’s death has plunged Quadriga into crisis and left it struggling to figure out how to refund more than 100,000 of its users. On Tuesday, the company said it was granted creditor protection in the Nova Scotia Supreme Court as it tries to sort out its financial mess. Cotten’s widow, Jennifer Robertson, said that the laptop that Cotten used to run the currency exchange is encrypted, according to a copy of her affidavit posted online by cryptocurrency news site CoinDesk.

Quadriga also owes about 70 million Canadian dollars ($53 million) in cash that it’s unable to pay back, Jeniffer said, citing difficulties accessing funds through the traditional banking system, CNN has said.

(With inputs from CNN)

Kathmandu: The Metropolitan Crime Division of Nepal Police received 926 complaints relating to cyber crime to date in the current fiscal year. The cyber crimes are the criminal activities carried out with the use of computers and internet.

The record shows that the more number of youths than the people of other age groups are found involved in the cyber crime. Many of them belong to 15-25 age group. Division Chief and Senior Superintendent of Police Dheeraj Pratap Singh, use of Facebook accounts in other’s names, hacking twitter accounts, sending of unnecessary and suggestive texts, phishing, misuse of personal information are some forms of cyber crimes which take place through digital devices including computers, tablets and smart phones connected to the internet, the network of the networks.

With the increasing use of the internet technology and social networking sites such as Facebook, twitter, and Viber, the cases of the cyber crime are on the rise of late. According to the Division Spokesperson and Superintendent of Police Narendra Prasad Upreti, fraudsters are misusing the social networking sites as a means of making illegal money. They make a contact with their possible victims via internet with ‘false’ information that they (victims) won a lottery or are getting free gift hampers from abroad and for that they have to send a certain amount to complete a process.
It is found that people have been deceived of millions of rupees from such fraudsters.
The record shows that the more number of youths than the people of other age groups are found involved in the cyber crime. Many of them belong to 15-25 age group. Division Chief and Senior Superintendent of Police Dheeraj Pratap Singh, use of Facebook accounts in other’s names, hacking twitter accounts, sending of unnecessary and suggestive texts, phishing, misuse of personal information are some forms of cyber crimes which take place through digital devices including computers, tablets and smart phones connected to the internet, the network of the networks. Of the registered cases, prosecutions have begun in only 40 cases.
He insisted on the need of education from the school level on the safe use of internet to control cyber crimes. Some people are unknowingly involved in cyber crime as they get suggestions to visit the prescribed link or like the posted link or download such materials. The Nepal Police deals with the case relating to cyber crime under the Electronic Transactions Act 2008 which puts the time limitation to file the first information report regard with the violation of this Act with 35 days.
The ETA recommends a fine not exceeding 100 thousands or jail sentence up to five years or both as punishment to a guilty convicted in the cyber crime.
The study of the Division shows that homelessness, school/college dropout, and suicide have increased in the society due to consequences of cyber crime. Recently, the Nepal Police has established a cyber bureau to deal with the growing cases of cyber crime. RSS

NEW DELHI- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is all set to launch Thursday night two satellites Kalamsat and Microsat-R, officials said. The satellites would be launched through Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) in its 46th flight from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, off the Bay of Bengal coast located in southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
“Countdown for the launch of PSLVC44 started yesterday at 7:37 p.m. local time at Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota. The launch is scheduled today at 11:37 p.m. local time,” a statement issued by ISRO said.
Kalamsat is a payload developed by students from Space Kidz India, while as Microsat-R is an imaging satellite meant for the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) purposes. Reports said the Kalamsat is a 10 cm cube nano satellite weighing about 1.2 kg and has a life span of about two months, however, Microsat-R is a 740-kg military imaging satellite.

(Agencies)

LALITPUR: As Nepal gears up to launch its first nano-satellite-Nepali Sat-1 under project Birds-3 by coming mid-May, we introduce you to two Nepali men who are working hard at day and toiling harder at night in Japan for this project to come to fruition.
Aawash Maskey and Hareram Shrestha, the former originally from Morang district and the latter from Gorkha, are currently keeping busy with the Birds-3 at Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) University in Japan with the sole purpose to help Nepal put its own satellites in orbit.
Nepal is set to put its own nanosatellite in orbit with the help of these two Nepalis, one completing Master’s Degree in Engineering from Japan and the other pursuing post-doctorate degree there. Maskey, a Ph D candidate in space engineering, is leading the Birds-3 project while Shrestha, a graduate from the Pulchowk Engineering College and currently a student of space engineering, is involved in Birds-4. The Nepali nanosatellite, Sri Lanka’s ‘Ravan-1’ and Japan’s Ubishu combined together measure 1,000 cubic centrimetres in volume and 4.5 kilogrammes in weight.
Nanosatellite is an artificial satellite with a weight mass between 1 and 10 kilogrammes.
The first-ever Nepal made nanosatellite is scheduled to launch from the USA, said Chief of the technical department of Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST), Rabindra Prasad Dhakal. The three countries simultaneously assembled the satellites and will launch them simultaneously from the USA, according to Dhakal.
The Kyutech University has supported in construction of Nepal’s nanosatellite at subsidized value, informed Dhakal.
Shrestha obtained scholarship for his Master degree in Japan and has been working on Birds-4 while Maskey had left for South Korea to study space science after completing his higher level education in Nepal.
27-year-old Maskey was inquisitive from his early age, according to his mother Sarita Maskey, an architect at the Ministry of Urban Development. She further explained, “Aawash used to imitate his father’s work while he accompanied his father in traditional watermill while generating energy. He is very stubborn and does not give up and give in easily.”
After completing 4-years of Bachelors in Space Engineering at Seoul University, Maskey got to participate in a workshop of space engineering. As he came to Nepal a year and half ago after completing his graduation, he got another opportunity to pursue further studies and work at Kyutech University simultaneously. The Kyutech University had already constructed Birds-1 and Birds-2. After getting through interview at the Kyutech, he met with Prof Maeda which laid groundwork for the construction of Birds-3.
Prof Maeda had suggested Maskey to secure some fund prior to springing into action for Birds-3. Both the professor and research fellow arrived Nepal to conduct space engineering workshop. After a rigorous process of floating the matter on space engineering project to the concerned authorities in Nepal and after convincing them, the government finally agreed to fund the Project at the cost of around Rs 20 million which they received in two installments, Maskey’s mother shared.
“Aawash wants to come to Nepal to teach other space engineering enthusiasts upon completion of his studies and work in Japan,” informed the proud mother. 32-year-old Shrestha had worked in NAST as a chief technical first class non-gazette officer for 8 years before pursuing his dream with Birds-3 in Japan.
After Kyutech University launched Birds-3 project in Nepal, Shrestha got an opportunity to be a part of it. He is currently pursuing his Masters degree in space engineering in full support of the United Nations. Both the Nepali prodigious students are committed to return to their country to impart the knowledge on space engineering as well as the efforts being made for Nepali Sat-1 to those willing to learn, grow and contribute to space engineering back home.