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Polkadot Enhances Decentralization in Ecosystem Growth With the Launch of PolkaPort East in Hong Kong

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    HK, HK, June 5th, 2024, Chainwire

    Web3 Foundation, the entity supporting the growth of the Polkadot ecosystem, has awarded a grant to PolkaPort East. The Decentralized Futures (DF) grant is designed to help further decentralize Polkadot while spearheading technical, community, and broader ecosystem adoption.

    PolkaPort East is an independent entity leading investor relations and growth initiatives for Polkadot centered on Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. The DF grant from the Web3 Foundation is the first such award to be received by an organization working in Asia.

    The grant will support PolkaPort East’s goals of leading investor relations and growth for Polkadot in the region. Its mandate also includes promoting Polkadot and its technology, and acting as a key regional driver of capital into the ecosystem.

    Max Rebol, co-founder of PolkaPort East and CEO of Harbour Industrial Capital, a Polkadot-focused VC fund, said: “The launch of PolkaPort East comes at a crucial moment for Polkadot. It represents a critical step towards increasing the network’s decentralization while strengthening the ecosystem’s strategic position in Hong Kong. Thibault Perréard, also a co-founder who heads up strategy for Bifrost, a leading Polkadot parachain added: “With the support of the DF grant, PolkaPort East will be tapping into the thriving innovation hubs of Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area while engaging and fostering relationships with local governments, global enterprises and capital allocators of the region.” 

    Vincent Chan, the third co-founder of PolkaPort East who formerly led growth initiatives at Parity Technologies, explained that following the receipt of the DF grant, the initiative will seek to attract participants to the Polkadot ecosystem across Asia. These include projects and developers looking to build on Polkadot, Polkadot-native VCs, funds, and capital allocators, as well as general web3 investors. It will also target Asian university blockchain collectives and associations, fintechs seeking to enter web3, and local government exploring the use of blockchain technology.

    Speaking on behalf of the Web3 Foundation, David Hawig, the Director of Ecosystem, stated “The Web3 Foundation is thrilled to support the Polkaport East initiative through a Decentralized Futures grant. This project exemplifies our commitment to fostering decentralized access and innovation within the Polkadot ecosystem. We believe Polkaport East will play a pivotal role in enhancing connectivity and empowering the community in Hong Kong, driving forward the vision of a truly decentralized internet.”

    About Decentralized Futures 

    The DF initiative developed by Web3 Foundation is designed to kickstart independent teams and initiative that will drive Polkadot’s success. It was established in 2023 following the restructuring of Parity Technologies which offloaded responsibilities for investor relations, growth and marketing to focus solely on technical development.

    Through the DF program, funding is available for Polkadot-focused organizations that aim to generate profit, as well as for non-profits that have a strategy to secure ongoing financing through Polkadot’s onchain treasury system. An initial $20M plus 5M DOT tokens have been allocated to Decentralized Futures to expand the Polkadot ecosystem.

    About PolkaPort East

    Based in Hong Kong, PolkaPort East is an organization tasked with spurring adoption of the Polkadot ecosystem in Asia with a focus on Hong Kong and the Greater Bay Area. By working with different entities ranging from developers to investors, PolkaPort East will help to fuel adoption of web3 technology and onboard new users to Polkadot.

    Contact

    DIrector
    Thibault Perréard
    Polkaport East
    [email protected]

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    Deepfake Fraud Doubles Down: 49% of Businesses Now Hit by Audio and Video Scams, Regula’s Survey Reveals

    2024-09-30T11:00:00Z

    RESTON, Va., Sept. 30, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In 2024, every second business globally reported incidents of deepfake fraud, revealing a growing trend in AI-related crimes over the past two years. Meanwhile, fraud involving fake or modified documents now outpaces AI-generated scams. These are the first findings from a new survey* “The Deepfake Trends 2024” commissioned by Regula, a global developer of forensic devices and identity verification solutions.

    Regula’s survey data shows a significant rise in the prevalence of video deepfakes, with a 20% increase in companies reporting incidents compared to 2022**. While 29% of fraud decision-makers across Australia, France, Germany, Mexico, Turkey, UAE, UK, and the USA reported encountering video deepfake fraud in 2022, this year’s data — covering the USA, UAE, Mexico, Singapore, and Germany — shows this figure has surged to 49%. This sharp increase across the revised cohort underscores the growing challenge of video deepfakes and their continued threat to businesses.
    Audio deepfakes are also on the rise, with a 12% increase compared to 2022 survey data.

    Identity fraud tactics

    Capture: The 12% rise in audio deepfake incidents and the 20% rise in video deepfake incidents from 2022 to 2024 highlight the need for enhanced detection and prevention measures.

    The survey also reveals industrial and regional differences regarding companies’ experience with deepfake threats. For example, audio deepfakes prevail over video ones among the three of the surveyed sectors, including Financial Services (51%), Aviation (52%), and Crypto (55%). At the same time, Law Enforcement (56%), Technology (57%) and FinTech (57%) are reporting more face video scams.

    The UAE and Singapore show higher susceptibility to deepfake fraud, with 56% of businesses in the UAE experiencing video deepfakes and 56% of businesses in Singapore encountering audio deepfakes. This is above the global average. In contrast, Mexico reported the lowest impact, with only 35% and 38% of businesses encountering video and audio deepfakes, respectively.

    Old threats still persist

    While video deepfakes are seeing the biggest jump over the two-year period (+20%), all other identity-related fraud has also grown, and some of its forms are more common than AI-generated scams.

    As Regula’s survey shows, 58% of businesses globally have experienced identity fraud in the form of fake or modified documents. This happens to be the top identity fraud method for Mexico (70%), the UAE (66%), the US (59%), and Germany (59%). This implies that not only do businesses have to adapt their verification methods to deal with new threats, but they also are forced to combat old threats that continue to pose a significant challenge.

    Interestingly, in a country more exposed to deepfakes, Singapore, this “traditional” threat is much lower than in the world at large: only 43% of businesses there reported having dealt with fake or tampered IDs.

    “Our latest survey demonstrates that AI-generated identity fraud has become an everyday reality. The surge in deepfake incidents over the two-year period of our survey leaves businesses no choice but to adapt and rethink their current verification practices. Deepfakes are becoming increasingly sophisticated, and traditional methods are no longer enough. What we think may work well is the liveness-centric approach, a robust procedure that involves checking the physical characteristics of both individuals and their documents; in other words, verifying biometrics and ID hardcopies in real-time interactions. This is what we adhere to in our R&D and what we recommend that our customers do to protect themselves,” says Ihar Kliashchou, Chief Technology Officer at Regula.

    Stay tuned for further insights as we continue to analyze and release more data on deepfake fraud. We’ll provide key updates to keep you informed and prepared for emerging threats.

    Additional resources:

    *The research was initiated by Regula and conducted by Sapio Research in August 2024 using an online survey of 575 business decision-makers across the Financial Services (including Traditional Banking and FinTech), Crypto, Technology, Telecommunications, Aviation, Healthcare, and Law Enforcement sectors. The respondent geography included Germany, Mexico, the UAE, the US, and Singapore.

    **After aligning the 2024 survey data with the 2022 cohort for a direct comparison, it reveals that 49% of companies experienced both audio and video deepfakes, up from 37% and 29%, respectively, in 2022. However, the unadjusted 2024 survey — which includes a larger sample size and new regions such as Singapore, in place of countries like Australia and Turkey — indicates that 50% of companies were affected by both types of deepfakes.

    About Regula

    Regula is a global developer of forensic devices and identity verification solutions. With our 30+ years of experience in forensic research and the most comprehensive library of document templates in the world, we create breakthrough technologies for document and biometric verification. Our hardware and software solutions allow over 1,000 organizations and 80 border control authorities globally to provide top-notch client service without compromising safety, security, or speed. Regula has been repeatedly named a Representative Vendor in the Gartner® Market Guide for Identity Verification.

    Learn more at www.regulaforensics.com.

    Contact:
    Kristina – [email protected]

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/59658107-89ca-4806-956c-853e8dfaad3e


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