Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to become a less attractive payment option for cybercriminals as regulations and tracking technologies improve, thwarting your ability to move funds securely.
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky noted in a November 22 report that ransomware negotiations and payments will become less reliant on bitcoin as a transfer of value, as it Increased digital asset regulations and tracking technologies will force cybercriminals to stay away from bitcoin and use other methods.
As Cointelegraph reported, ransomware payments using cryptocurrencies surpassed $600 million in 2021and some of the biggest hits, like the Colonial Pipeline attack, demanded BTC as ransom.
Kaspersky also noted that crypto scams have increased along with increased adoption of digital assets. However, he said that people have become more crypto-aware and less likely to fall for primitive scams like Elon Musk’s deepfake videos that promise huge cryptocurrency profits.
predicted that malicious actors will continue to try to steal funds through bogus initial non-fungible token offerings (NFTs).for its acronym in English), and cryptocurrency-based thefts, such as smart contract exploits, will become more advanced and widespread.
2022 has largely been a year of bridge exploitswith more than $2.5 billion already stolen, Cointelegraph reported.
The report also noted that malware loaders will become very valuable property on hacker forums as they are harder to detect. Kaspersky predicted that ransomware attackers could shift from destructive financial activity to more political demands.
Returning to the present, the report highlighted an exponential increase in 2021 and 2022 of “infostealers”malicious programs that collect information such as logins.
Cryptojacking and phishing attacks have also increased in 2022, as cybercriminals use social engineering to lure their victims.
Cryptojacking consists of injecting malware in a system to steal or undermine digital assets. Phishing is a technique that uses emails or messages Aimed at luring a victim into revealing personal information or clicking a malicious link.
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