Israeli startup Privatix has been fending off scam attempts ahead of its upcoming ICO scheduled for Oct. 19. The blockchain-based startup, which is behind a decentralized P2P VPN network, is run by former Israeli Air Force military who don’t appear in the least bit worried. Instead they’re nudging the hackers on in a show of confidence in their own cybersecurity. The anonymous threats, which Privatix execs say are funny and won’t cause any damage, are targeting the upcoming ICO and requesting payments in BTC. 

Privatix CEO Dima Rusakov, who is former Israeli military, in a blog shared a trio of sample messages in which the upcoming ICO was threatened. In one, the hackers ask for payment in BTC or they will “destroy the token sale with the most powerful DDoS attack ever,” to which Rusakov responded, “Good luck and better find a job.”

The other threats and retorts were similar, and the Privatix chief seemed to use the messages as a warning to the cryptocurrency community about the creativity of scammers, urging people to always verify the Privatix website URL.  

Possessing swagger is good for an upcoming ICO and gives investors a greater sense of ease, but only if the publisher’s got Fort Knox-like security. Lottery smart contracts startup SmartBillions reportedly challenged hackers to break into its smart contract to steal as much as USD 500,000 in an attempt to uncover any vulnerabilities. Apparently there were some, as Hackers took the bait and reportedly pocketed ETH 400 (USD 120,000). 

Inside the Privatix ICO

The Privatix platform is designed to solve the problem of unused internet bandwidth, giving users the ability to sell spare bandwidth to buyers in exchange for the PRIX token. They also address cybersecurity and internet speed, all of which they seek to revolutionize on the blockchain. Their mission is really bigger than that, as they’re trying to solve internet censorship. Privatix’s technology targets internet users around the world, which are expected to grow from 3.4 billion as of year-end 2016 to 5 billion by 2020. 

In the Privatix ICO, one ETH will get investors 100 of the PRIX tokens. Privatix is issuing a total of 10 million ERC20 PRIX tokens, which it defines as a utility. Privatix also attracted more than 1,000 subscribers to its whitelist token sale, which is unfolding now.