News related to cryptocurrency dominated the news cycle over the last year. With the value of this form of currency now reaching into the trillions, it’s being used more by prominent companies.
There is an issue that needs to be addressed with crypto, though. Because it’s based solely in the digital world, it’s ripe for cybercrimes to take place. Not only that, it has become the currency of choice for the criminals themselves.
It’s a good idea to talk about how crypto such as Bitcoin or CoinMarketCap works in general. These digital-only currencies are placed and purchased through decentralized networks using blockchain, offering a type of currency that doesn’t have government oversight and therefore can be less manipulated by a central governing body. It can be a wild ride for sure since this means higher profits as well as losses when trading in the cryptocurrency world.
Cautionary tales
When it comes to cybercrimes in the digital world, hackers are pretty brazen. A great example of this cited by the Tech Radar website notes a multi-million theft from Poly Network, one of the more prominent trading and lending sites for crypto. While the theft ended up being less than expected, it still amounted to close to $25 million.
Another theft took place in the earliest days of crypto, as the Japanese exchange Mt Gox had $850,000 in Bitcoins stolen, leading to bankruptcy. Another hacking theft led to the Binance exchange losing bitcoin worth $41 million.
Into this quagmire, Google has stepped in to note some of its own concerns with crypto and its cloud services. The tech giant reported that currency miners are employing users’ cloud accounts to perform their hacks or to wage malware or ransomware attacks in the cryptocurrency world.
Gaining access in the worst way
How were they able to gain access to users’ cloud services? Google states that poor security practices from users led to these breaches. Close to half of the attacks took place on cloud accounts that had either weak or no password protection. Another 25% of the attacks were attributed to third-party software vulnerabilities installed by cloud owners.
It’s also important to note that the deregulated nature of crypto means that it’s the trade and currency of many cybercriminals. While they are sharing the inherent risks that crypto traders face with devaluing this currency, it’s also used with an ease that’s certainly troubling.
An effective tool to combat cybercrimes
CHIPS’ Zero Trust solution, AppGuard, can be effective in many different business contexts where cybersecurity is of utmost importance. We have several webinars on tap to demonstrate AppGuard and provide more details on implementation and use for any type of business. Go to our Calendly site to see dates and times.
