"Cybercrime Carnage: Cryptocurrency-Targeting Attacks Abound"

Theft of cryptocurrency has grown to be a significant component of cybercrime. Despite the fallout from the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, which declared bankruptcy on November 11, illicit interest in cryptocurrency continues. Bitcoin still has a lot of value for attackers who can steal Bitcoin, Monero, Ether, and other cryptocurrencies and convert them to fiat currency using money-laundering techniques. Attackers raided the FTX exchange, with many market observers suspecting insider involvement. According to Chainalysis, the attacker converted approximately $60 million in stolen funds via the decentralized renBTC bridge. Direct attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges are often found to be associated with nation-state attack groups. However, criminals with no nation-state affiliation are more likely to use phishing, offer suspicious cryptocurrency exchange platforms, and launch cryptojacking to illicitly mine cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking is the use of malware that quietly sits on systems and uses its computational power to mine for cryptocurrency, solving computationally intensive tasks in exchange for the opportunity to receive free cryptocurrency as a reward. As law enforcement agencies work to disrupt ransomware operations, cryptojacking has resurfaced on a large scale. Mining used to be primarily a threat to end users, but now miners are stealing power from large businesses and critical infrastructure. Even large ransomware operators, such as AstraLocker, are ceasing operations in order to transition to cryptojacking. Attackers' favorite tactic remains the outright theft of cryptocurrency, but centralized exchanges are no longer the primary target of attackers as Decentralized Finance (DeFi) protocols have taken over. Chainalysis reported in October that 11 attacks had resulted in the theft of $718 million from DeFi protocols. This article continues to discuss the rise in cryptocurrency-targeting attacks. 

BankInfoSecurity "Cybercrime Carnage: Cryptocurrency-Targeting Attacks Abound"