Russia, US in Top 3 for Crypto-Related Threats, Cybersecurity Report Reveals –

Cryptocurrency-related threats followed prices and fell significantly after the market plunge in May, a recent report from a leading cybersecurity firm suggests. Detections fell by almost a quarter, but Russia remains the hardest-hit country, with the US also ranking in the top three.

ESET: 1 in 10 crypto-focused threats discovered in Russia

Software threats in the crypto space, especially mining malware, depend heavily on developments in the cryptocurrency market, concludes the cybersecurity company ESET in its Threat Report T2 2021. However, the decline in cybercriminal activity around cryptocurrencies does not mean that everything has been calm," note the authors of the study, which covers the second third of the year, and add:

Cryptocurrency investment scams, in which fraudsters lure their unsuspecting victims to fake investment websites or impersonate government agencies and even celebrities, are more popular than ever.

Victims lost at least $80 million to this type of fraud in just a few months since October 2020, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission said in May. Meanwhile, a single crypto Ponzi scheme in Russia, Finiko, blockchain forensics firm Chainalysis received more than half of the $800 million in cryptocurrency sent from Eastern Europe to fraudulent addresses revealed in one preview its latest Geography of Cryptocurrency report.

Nevertheless, detections of all crypto-related threats by ESET fell by 23.6% in T2, 2021. At the same time, certain countries continue to be severely affected by the phenomenon. The Russian Federation in particular is still at the top of the table with 10% of all cases. Russia is followed by Peru with 6.8%, while the United States comes third with 5.3% Test report Details.

“In recent months, we have seen that cryptominer detection rates fluctuated along with cryptocurrency prices, but cryptostealer detections did not appear to be influenced by the same factors,” said Jiří Kropáč, head of Threat Detection Labs at Slovakia-based ESET. Cryptominers, like prices, are influenced by government regulations and large investments in certain coins, he explained.

However, crypto stealers are not so dependent on the volatile market, Kropáč further added. “There is no reason for cybercriminals to abandon them when coins lose value, as they represent a reliable tool that brings both profit and extortion opportunities,” explained the ESET manager.

The European cybersecurity firm also said it continued to monitor cryptojacking domains during the reporting period. “Due to the nature of this activity – running cryptomining software in the background of compromised websites – the most visited cryptojacking domains continue to be adult content portals, free streaming websites, torrent sites and forums,” ESET emphasized.

Do you agree with ESET that crypto-related threats in cyberspace are influenced by cryptocurrency prices? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

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