Jess Rapp

Born and raised in Asia, and a global nomad, Jess is always on the look out for the next adventure, and what stories it will bring. She is passionate about solving world issues, and how technology can play a role in this.

Business Technology

The gig economy has a new player in town, keeping your finances in order

Jess Rapp3 years ago

7.8K

Popularized by Uber and AirBnB, the gig economy has grown immensely over the past few years, raking in a workforce...

the sociable -gender inequality startups

Business

2018: the year women shake-up the startup scene

Jess Rapp3 years ago

7.8K

Gender equality in the work place, or rather the lack of it, was one of 2017's pivotal topics. The combination...

Gaming

eSports attracting more than just competitive gamers

Jess Rapp3 years ago

7.8K

The eSports industry has exploded in the past couple of years with a record number of competitive gamers entering leagues,...

Technology

How tech can help solve any mishaps in gift giving to millennials

Jess Rapp3 years ago

2.74K

With Christmas right around the corner, the millennial enigma continues to baffle many when it comes to gifts this holiday...

Technology

Coding Autism: the startup empowering autistic adults in the tech industry

Jess Rapp3 years ago

7.24K

Technology has helped open doors for people with autism, from AI apps democratizing education, to Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC)...

Business Technology

Storiad: a new digital chapter for the book industry

Jess Rapp3 years ago

3.12K

Despite the fact that over one million books are published every year in the US alone, authors actually have very...

Technology

How video analytics and facial recognition are fighting crime

Jess Rapp3 years ago

6.65K

Security surveillance just got smarter thanks to the development of video analytics and facial recognition technology. With millions of closed-circuit...

Technology

FINNOSUMMIT to bring Latin America’s most advanced Fintech startups to Miami

Jess Rapp3 years ago

3.22K

Arguably one of the most successful fintech conferences in Latin America, FINNOSUMMIT Miami will bring together cutting-edge industry players to discuss...

Web

Pawn Friday will unite 1,000 shops to provide financial lifeline to underbanked

Jess Rapp3 years ago

2.78K

PawnGuru has come up with an alternative way to grant the underbanked financial access by using the pawn industry as an...

Business

Nordic Startup Awards highlights region as alternative to Silicon Valley for tech

Jess Rapp3 years ago

4.02K

On Wednesday October 18, Nordic Startup Awards held its Grand Finale in Stockholm, Sweden, an event honoring the Nordic region's...

Business Technology

Rockstart accelerator launches its 1st program in Latin America

Jess Rapp3 years ago

3.18K

Dutch Startup accelerator Rockstart kicked off its Web & Mobile Accelerator Program on October 11 in Bogota, Colombia - its first in Latin...

virtual reality is being used to combat a very real issue: sexual assault

Technology

How VR is being used to combat a very real issue: sexual assault

Jess Rapp4 years ago

3.65K

Vantage Point, a virtual reality (VR) company providing perspective on sexual assault from both victim and perpetrator, is launching a...

Technology

Gesture control tech is disrupting industries, but is it making society too dependent?

Jess Rapp4 years ago

3.28K

Gesture control technology can now turn any object into a remote control using cameras and is revolutionising industries, but is...

Brains Byte Back

The weekly podcast looking at how our brains, psychology, and society are impacted by the ever-evolving technology that surrounds us. Every Tuesday we bring you the best stories and guests from around the world relating to technology, psychology, and society.

In today’s episode of the Brains Byte Back podcast, we will take a look at three separate cybercrime stories, attacks, and events, told by three different cybercrime and crypto experts.

We have seen many bank heists and robberies portrayed in movies and TV shows, and they are often high octane, adrenaline-fueled, and exciting.

But times have changed, and no longer are the most sophisticated and lucrative heists carried out by a crew of heavily armed robbers. Instead, it is cybercriminals behind computer screens that stand to make the most money.

This was proven by The Bangladesh Bank Heist that took place in 2016, when unidentified hackers attempted to steal $951 million from the Bangladesh Central Bank in Dhaka.

Even though a lot of this money was recovered, the thieves still managed to get away with $81 million, and the attempt is considered one of the biggest bank heists of all time.

First on the podcast, we will hear Pamela Clegg, Director of Financial Investigations and Education for CipherTrace, an intelligence company working to eradicate financial crimes and provide prevention strategies in the cryptocurrency and blockchain spaces. Clegg shares a story of how CipherTrace teamed up with McAfee to tackle NetWalker ransomware, a ransomware that has become a franchise within the cybercrime underworld.

Secondly, we are joined by Ondrej Krehel, CEO, and founder of digital forensics firm LIFARS, who has worked with the FBI, DHS, Interpol, and many other government organizations on cyber defense and threat hunting. Krehel joins us to discuss his work with NiceHash, a crypto-mining marketplace, which came to LIFARS for help in response to a $67M crypto hack perpetrated by the North Korean military.

And finally, we are joined by Rytis Bieliauskas, CTO of cryptocurrency payment platform Coingate, to discuss how a DEA agent and a Secret Service agent stole Bitcoins from the Silk Road owner and got caught because of Bitcoin’s traceability.