Cryptocurrency Phishing Attacks Rise by 40% Year-on-Year in 2022

Cryptocurrency-related cyberattacks have seen bad actors shift their focus from traditional financial threats to phishing. Kaspersky has revealed a 40% year-on-year increase in cryptocurrency phishing attacks in 2022, with 5,040,520 attacks detected compared to 3,596,437 in 2021. Phishing attacks involve reaching out to investors through fake websites and communication channels that mimic official companies, and prompting users to share personal information such as private keys, which ultimately provides attackers unwarranted access to crypto wallets and assets.

While Kaspersky could not predict if the trend of cryptocurrency phishing attacks would increase in 2023, phishing attacks continue to gain momentum in 2023. In a survey conducted by Kaspersky, one out of seven respondents admitted to being affected by cryptocurrency phishing.

Phishing attacks predominantly involve giveaway scams or fake wallet phishing pages, but attackers continue to evolve their strategies. Kaspersky has noted that “crypto still remains a symbol of getting rich quick with minimal effort,” which attracts scammers to innovate their techniques and stories to lure in unwary crypto investors.

Recently, hardware cryptocurrency wallet provider Trezor issued a warning against attempts to steal users’ crypto by tricking investors into entering their recovery phrase on a fake Trezor site. This highlights the importance of being vigilant and taking necessary precautions to protect one’s crypto assets.

In a recent incident, Arbitrum investors were exposed to a phishing link via its official Discord server. A hacker reportedly hacked into the Discord account of one of Arbitrum’s developers, which was then used to share a fake announcement with a phishing link. This shows that attackers are constantly finding new ways to trick investors into sharing their personal information, and highlights the need for increased security measures to protect against cryptocurrency phishing attacks.

In conclusion, cryptocurrency phishing attacks continue to rise, with attackers evolving their strategies to lure unwary crypto investors. It is crucial for investors to be vigilant and take necessary precautions, such as avoiding clicking on suspicious links, verifying the authenticity of websites and communication channels, and using hardware wallets to store their crypto assets. Additionally, companies must prioritize security measures and educate their users to help prevent and mitigate the effects of cryptocurrency phishing attacks.

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / / /

Cryptocurrency Phishing Attacks Surge in 2022

When it comes to cryptocurrency-related cyberattacks, bad actors have seemingly reduced the use of traditional financial threats like desktop and mobile banking malware, shifting their focus to phishing. Russian cybersecurity and anti-virus provider Kaspersky has revealed that cryptocurrency phishing attacks witnessed a 40% year-on-year increase in 2022. The company detected 5,040,520 crypto phishing attacks in the year, compared with 3,596,437 in 2021. This represents a significant increase in the number of phishing attacks targeting crypto investors.

A typical phishing attack involves reaching out to investors through fake websites and communication channels that mimic official companies. Users are then prompted to share personal information such as private keys, which ultimately provides attackers unwarranted access to crypto wallets and assets. This is a serious threat, as once attackers have access to a user’s private keys, they can gain control over their cryptocurrency holdings and potentially steal their assets.

While Kaspersky could not predict if the trend would increase in 2023, phishing attacks continue to gain momentum in 2023. Most recently, in March, hardware cryptocurrency wallet provider Trezor issued a warning against attempts to steal users’ crypto by tricking investors into entering their recovery phrase on a fake Trezor site. This highlights the need for users to exercise caution and be vigilant in their interactions with cryptocurrency platforms.

In a survey conducted by Kaspersky in 2022, one out of seven respondents admitted to being affected by cryptocurrency phishing. While phishing attacks predominantly involve giveaway scams or fake wallet phishing pages, attackers continue to evolve their strategies. According to Kaspersky, “crypto still remains a symbol of getting rich quick with minimal effort,” which attracts scammers to innovate their techniques and stories to lure in unwary crypto investors.

Even established cryptocurrency platforms and their investors are not immune to phishing attacks. Arbitrum investors were recently exposed to a phishing link via its official Discord server. A hacker reportedly hacked into the Discord account of one of Arbitrum’s developers, which was then used to share a fake announcement with a phishing link. This highlights the importance of securing communication channels and taking measures to ensure that official channels are not compromised.

To protect themselves from phishing attacks, cryptocurrency investors should be wary of unsolicited communications and only interact with official channels. They should also avoid sharing their private keys or recovery phrases with anyone, even if they appear to be legitimate sources. Finally, it’s essential to use two-factor authentication and keep their software and anti-virus systems updated to ensure maximum protection against phishing attacks.

In conclusion, phishing attacks targeting cryptocurrency investors are increasing in frequency, and scammers are continually evolving their techniques to steal investors’ assets. It’s crucial for investors to remain vigilant and exercise caution in their interactions with cryptocurrency platforms to avoid falling victim to these scams. By taking the necessary precautions, investors can help safeguard their cryptocurrency holdings and prevent losses due to phishing attacks.

Source

Tagged : / / / / /

Kaspersky Experts Assess The Biggest Cyberthreats In Crypto For 2022

Don’t read this Kaspersky report if you’re prone to paranoia. The cybersecurity experts and antivirus manufacturers released its annual “Cyberthreats to financial organizations” paper and two items are about cryptocurrencies. Prepare to be spooked. The report begins with an evaluation of last year’s predictions and they were only wrong about one, and not by much. Plus, this year’s cyberthreats sound very much like a possibility. Luckily, you found this article and can prepare yourself accordingly. 

Related Reading | Hackers Nab $16 Million In BTC Through Bitcoin Wallet Exploit

Both Cybercriminals And State-Sponsored Actors Will Target Cryptocurrencies

First, Kaspersky paints the picture and gives us the least scary threat:

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

“The cryptocurrency business continues to grow, and people continue to invest their money in this market because it’s a digital asset and all transactions occur online. It also offers anonymity to users. These are attractive aspects that cybercrime groups will be unable to resist.”

And then, Kaspersky makes our skin crawl:

“And not only cybercrime groups but also state-sponsored groups who have already started targeting this industry.”

As the honeypot grows, criminals will be increasingly attracted to cryptocurrencies. That much we can deal with. However, the state-sponsored groups are also a logical progression. How could they not target cryptocurrencies? And they’re going to use much more sophisticated methods to get at you. For example:

Get 110 USDT Futures Bonus for FREE!

The people behind Pokémon GO recently partnered with Bitcoin rewards card Fold App to make a Bitcoin-themed Pokémon GO clone that pays in BTC. We have no idea if what this Twitter user says holds any water, but the whole enterprise does sound suspicious. And in light of this prediction by Kaspersky, even more so.

However, just to be clear, NewsBTC knows nothing about Niantic Labs and the Fold App. Do your own research.

BTCUSD price chart for 11/26/2021 - TradingView

BTC price chart for 11/26/2021 on Oanda | Source: BTC/USD on TradingView.com

Manufacturing Fake Devices With Backdoors

Once again, Kaspersky makes us rethink our security methods:

“While some people consider it risky to invest in cryptocurrencies, those who do realize that their wallet is the weakest link. While most infostealers can easily steal a locally stored wallet, a cloud-based one is also susceptible to attacks with the risk of losing funds. Then there are hardware-based cryptocurrencies wallets. But the question is, are there sufficiently reliable and transparent security assessments to prove that they are safe?”

However, their prediction is much more concerning:

“In the scramble for cryptocurrency investment opportunities, we believe that cybercriminals will take advantage of fabricating and selling rogue devices with backdoors, followed by social engineering campaigns and other methods to steal victims’ financial assets.”

There are already horror stories about dubious software wallets that end up in lost funds. And yeah, fake hardware wallets seem to be a logical next frontier. Just this year, following the Ledger hack, reports of weird-looking Ledger wallets took over the Internet. However, if a more sophisticated criminal made a better-looking device, it could wreak havoc through the cryptocurrency community.

And if Kaspersky says it will happen…

Related Reading | DeFi Hack: Vee Finance Losses $35 Million To Hackers Following Mainnet Launch

Kaspersky Identifies Even More Cyberthreats

The “Cyberthreats to financial organizations” contains a few more items that aren’t fully related to cryptocurrencies, but may be of interest to all of you. They predict “an exponential growth in infostealers,” and a rise in ransomware from “small regionally derived groups.” Plus, data breaches in Open Banking, Mobile Banking Trojans, and identify risk in remote workers using company equipment for entertainment purposes. Read the whole thing and be prepared for everything.

Featured Image: vickygharat on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

Source

Tagged : / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / / /
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 27,142.27 1.11%
Ethereum (ETH) $ 1,894.49 1.99%
Litecoin (LTC) $ 95.31 3.74%
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 114.69 1.60%