Kaspersky Experts Assess Biggest Crypto Cyber ​​Threats For 2022

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Do not read this Kaspersky report if you are prone to paranoia. Cyber ​​security experts and antivirus makers have released their annual “Cyber ​​Threats to Financial Organizations” paper and two articles focus on cryptocurrencies. Prepare to be afraid. The report begins with an assessment of last year’s predictions and they were only wrong in one, and not by much. Plus, the cyber threats of 2022 look a lot like a possibility. Fortunately, you have found this article and can prepare yourself accordingly.

Related reading | Hackers Rake $ 16 Million in BTC Through Bitcoin Wallet Mining

Cybercriminals and State Sponsored Actors to Target Cryptocurrencies

First, Kaspersky paints the picture and gives us the less frightening threat:

“The cryptocurrency industry continues to grow and people continue to invest their money in this market because it is a digital asset and all transactions take place online. It also offers anonymity to users. These are alluring aspects that cybercrime groups will not be able to resist. “

And then, Kaspersky makes us crawl:

“And not only the cybercrime groups, but also the state sponsored groups that have already started targeting this industry.”

As the honeypot grows, criminals will increasingly be drawn to cryptocurrencies. What we can handle. However, 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 reach you. For example:

Friendly reminder that @fold_app recently partnered with @NianticLabs, supported by the @CIA #DeleteFoldApp https://t.co/IdyXO5eAKb

– Louisa Alexa (@LouisaAlexa) November 24, 2021

The people behind Pokémon GO recently teamed up with the Bitcoin Rewards Card Fold App to create a Bitcoin-themed Pokémon GO clone that pays in BTC. We have no idea if what this Twitter user is saying holds up, but the entire company looks suspicious. And in light of this prediction from Kaspersky, even more.

However, just to be clear, NewsBTC doesn’t know anything about Niantic Labs and the Fold app. Do your own research.

BTC price chart for 11/26/2021 in Oanda | Source: BTC / USD on TradingView.com Making 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 realize that their wallet is the weakest link. While most infostealers can easily steal a locally stored wallet, a cloud-based wallet is also susceptible to attacks with the risk of losing funds. Then there are physical cryptocurrency wallets. But the question is whether there are sufficiently reliable and transparent security assessments to prove that they are sure? “

However, their prediction is much more concerning:

“In the rush for cryptocurrency investment opportunities, we believe cybercriminals will profit from manufacturing and selling malicious devices with backdoors, followed by social engineering campaigns and other methods to steal the financial assets of the victims. “

There are already horror stories about questionable software wallets that end up losing funds. And yes, fake hardware wallets seem like a logical next frontier. This year alone, in the wake of the Ledger hack, reports of strange Ledger wallets flooded the internet. However, if a more sophisticated criminal made a better looking device, it could wreak havoc on the cryptocurrency community.

What if Kaspersky says it will happen …

Related reading | DeFi Hack: Vee Finance Loses $ 35 Million to Hackers After Mainnet Launch

Kaspersky identifies even more cyber threats

There are a few more things in “Cyber ​​Threats Against Financial Organizations” that are not entirely related to cryptocurrencies, but may be of interest to all of you. They predict “an exponential growth of infostealers” and an increase in ransomware from “small groups derived from the region”. In addition, data breaches in Open Banking, Mobile Banking Trojans and the identification of risks among remote workers using company equipment for entertainment purposes. Read it all and be prepared for anything.

Featured Image: vickygharat on Pixabay | Charts by TradingView

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