Home
News
- The growth of cryptocurrency threats was fueled by cryptocurrency miners
- Countries with the most crypto-threats were Russia followed by Thailand and Peru
- The increasing price of Bitcoin is making cybercriminals much more attractive
According to ESET, a global leader in cybersecurity, the rising demand for cryptocurrencies has had a direct impact on the growth of cryptocurrency threats, which began in the second half of 2020 and continued in 2021.
According to the report, as cryptocurrencies become more widely used, the amount of malware designed to profit from them will increase. Crypto Miners were the driving force behind the rise in cryptocurrency threats, which increased by 22% between January and April 2020 and September to December 2020. Russia was the country most affected by cryptocurrency threats, with 8.9% of attacks detected by ESET telemetry, followed by Thailand and Peru, with 5.6 percent and 5.3 percent of detections, respectively.
Russia has taken a hard stance against crypto-currencies
Russian President Vladimir Putin said cryptocurrencies were risky and were being used for criminal activity, while Russia’s central bank said it would block websites selling bitcoin and its rivals, reversing a month-old promise to legalize the market. The use of cryptocurrencies is fraught with dangers. Putin stated I know the central bank’s position on that. Initially, Russian financial authorities considered any money issued by non-state-approved institutions to be illegal, claiming that it could be used to launder money. Last month, however, Finance Minister Anton Siluanov stated that the authorities had to accept the existence of virtual currencies.
With bitcoin prices swinging wildly in recent days, the bitcoin and cryptocurrency community is reeling from the sudden market downturn in the face of the coronavirus crisis. As potential bitcoin buyers consider whether to return to the market, a senior Russian official has warned that a bill on digital assets that have been delayed will include a ban on issuing and selling cryptocurrencies. From the standpoint of financial stability, money laundering prevention, and consumer protection, we believe that legalizing cryptocurrency transactions poses significant risks, according to Alexey Guznov, head of legal at Russia’s central bank. We oppose the existence of institutions that organize the release of cryptocurrency and facilitate its circulation, according to Guznov, who added that the upcoming bill expressly prohibits the issue, as well as the organization of cryptocurrency circulation, and establishes liability for violations of the ban.
The increased value of Bitcoin is making cybercriminals much more attractive
The majority of web threats were detected on ESET customers’ devices in Russia, Japan, Peru, Poland, and France from January to April 2021. The upward trend is unsurprising, according to the report, because the value of cryptocurrencies has skyrocketed in recent months, making them far more appealing to cybercriminals.
Fortunately, as you’ll see in our report, we’re still seeing worrying examples of cybercrooks quickly exploiting trending vulnerabilities and configuration flaws with a focus on achieving high returns on investment, according to Roman Kovac, ESET’s chief research officer. Continued abuse of the remote desktop protocol (RDP), which remains the most popular target for brute-force attacks, as well as an increase in cryptocurrency threats and Android banking malware detections, he said.
Steve Anderson is an Australian crypto enthusiast. He is a specialist in management and trading for over 5 years. Steve has worked as a crypto trader, he loves learning about decentralisation, understanding the true potential of the blockchain.
