Bitcoin Daily: Hackers Steal $2.4M In Crypto Via SIM Cards; GE Uses Blockchain In Aircraft Supply Chain

GE Aviation is working with Microsoft Azure to launch an aircraft parts blockchain.

TRUEngine, as the project is known internally, would monitor and collate data regarding the manufacture and life cycle of aircraft engine parts. GE Aviation currently supplies jet engines to about 60 percent of the global airline industry, and it plans to share the blockchain with partners across the industry.

“Our vision is being able to trace parts as they are manufactured and the engine when it’s shipped. Then how that engine performs in the field, when to repair it and then re-enter it into the field,” David Havera, blockchain CTO of GE Aviation Digital Group, told CoinDesk.

Bitcoin’s price surged above $7,500 on Sunday (May 12), hitting its highest price since August 2018.

While the crypto hit $7,577 at 13:36 GMT, it cooled down to $7,100 afterwards — a sign that the market considered the asset overbought, according to CoinDesk.

In other bitcoin news, nearly 60,000 people have signed up for an international scavenger hunt organized by Satoshi’s Treasure co-creator Eric Meltzer of Primitive Ventures to find $1 million worth of the cryptocurrency.

Future games and campaigns will be funded by other investors including Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Mark Pincus, Andrew Lee, IDEO CoLabs Ventures, Nic Carter, Matt Walsh, Meltem Demirors, Li Xiaolai, Jehan Chu and Sam Engelbardt.

“I’d say Satoshi’s Treasure is so exciting because it’s the pure joy of a treasure hunt,” Carter told CoinDesk. “It’s global and anyone can participate.”

And nine people have been charged in an alleged conspiracy to hijack SIM cards and steal more than $2.4 million in cryptocurrency.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan announced six individuals connected to a hacking group known to its members as “The Community” were charged in a fifteen-count indictment with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.  In addition, a criminal complaint charged three former employees of mobile phone providers with wire fraud in relation to the conspiracy.

“Mobile phones today are not only a means of communication but also a means of identification,” stated United States Attorney Matthew Schneider in a press release. “This case should serve as a reminder to all of us to protect our personal and financial information from those who seek to steal it.”