‘Two Weeks’ To Prepare For Cyber Attack On Bank Accounts – UK Government

by GoldCore

Yesterday’s AM fix was USD 1,244.75, EUR 915.26 and GBP 743.49 per ounce.

Gold fell $7.70 or 0.62% yesterday to $1,243.10/oz. Silver slipped $0.06 or 0.32% to $18.75/oz.

Gold fell to the lowest since February 3 and prices completed a sixth day of declines for the longest losing run since August. Gold bullion in Singapore traded sideways around the $1,244/oz level prior to ticking slightly higher to over $1,246/oz at the open in London (0800 BST).

Silver for immediate delivery rose 0.5% to $18.849 an ounce after sliding to $18.635 on May 30, the lowest since June 2013. Platinum traded at $1,437.75 an ounce from $1,435.56 yesterday, when prices fell to a three-week low of $1,433.

Palladium added another 0.2% to $833.74/oz. The metal climbed to a 34 month high of $845.24 an ounce on May 28 amid a strike in South Africa and prospects of further sanctions against Russia, the world’s biggest producers.

Gold held near a four-month low as risk appetite saw advances in the dollar and global equities. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index reached a new record high and the dollar climbed to a two-month high against 10 major counterparts.

Gold declined 3.3% in May, the biggest monthly drop this year, despite quite strong fundamentals.  The euro also weakened 1.7% versus the dollar in May and there is speculation that the European Central Bank will become even more dovish when policy makers meet this Thursday, June 5. Goldman alumni Draghi adopting an even loose monetary policy should support gold prices.

Gold in U.S. Dollars – 5 Years – (Thomson Reuters)

On Friday, the U.S. nonfarm payrolls data will be watched for signs regarding the fragile U.S recovery. As usual, a good jobs number should see gold sold by traders and a poor jobs number should see gold buying.

Gold remains 3.6% higher this year partly due to robust global demand and due to heightened geopolitical risk.

Since May 29, the 14 day relative-strength index has been below the level of 30 that suggests a potential impending rebound to technical analysts.

‘Two Weeks’ To Prepare For Cyber Attack On Bank Accounts -  UK Government
Computer users are being urged to protect their machines from malware which could allow hackers to steal financial data, access banks accounts and withdraw savers funds.

British investigators have been working with the FBI to trace the hackers behind an attack, which they expect to take place in the next fortnight.

Between 500,000 and one million machines have so far been infected worldwide, according to court documents.

U.S. officials have accused a Russian hacker of masterminding the scam – and prosecutors say those involved have already raked in more than $100 million (£60 million).

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is now warning of a “powerful computer attack”. It is urging people to back up important files and make sure their security software and operating system are up to date.

Two pieces of malware software known as GOZeuS and CryptoLocker are responsible for the alert.

They typically infect a computer via attachments or links in emails. If a user clicks on GOZeuS, it silently monitors activity and tries to capture information such as bank details.

“(The links or attachments) may look like they have been sent by genuine contacts and may purport to carry invoices, voicemail messages, or any file made to look innocuous,” the NCA warned.
“These emails are generated by other victims’ computers, who do not realise they are infected, and are used to send mass emails creating more victims.”

The Cryptolocker malware is activated if the first attack is not profitable enough. It locks a user from their files and threatens to delete them unless a “ransom” of several hundred pounds is paid.

Some 234,000 machines were hit by Cryptolocker – bringing in $27m (£16m) in payments – in its first two months, the US Justice Department said. More than 15,500 computers in the UK are infected and “many more” are at risk, according to the NCA.

Stewart Garrick, a senior investigator with the NCA, told Sky News the threat was mainly against individuals or businesses running Windows-based computers.

We have long warned of the vulnerability of having all your investments and savings in electronic format. The nature of our modern financial and banking system exposes investors and savers to new risks that were not there a generation ago.

Prudent diversification today, involves owning some actual physical gold and silver coins and bars in your possession or in allocated, segregated accounts that can be taken delivery of with a phone call.