Factual info: Hacking trends toward Crypto
As mentioned before I have nearly 30 years in IT. I am affiliated with continual support (tech and testing) many major players in various IT related subjects for many years. In other words, I'm not talking shit.
This excerpt is from an annual summation I received last week from one of my security vendors, specifically web & email security. This is one page of 35, one threat of dozens.
I removed any vendor association and links but the hackings exploits are real.
Top 10 Countries for Cryptojacking
1. United States
2. Denmark
3. Germany
4. France
5. United Arab Emirates
6. South Africa
7. Mexico
8. Canada
9. India
10. Brazil
Unsurprisingly, every region showed an increase in
cryptojacking — and most of these jumps were dramatic. The
sole exception was Asia, where researchers recorded
5.2 million hits — up just 1% from the same time period in 2022.
At 4.1 million hits, Latin America saw slightly less cryptojacking
than Asia, but this total represented a larger year-to-date
increase of 32%.
In contrast, cryptojacking in Europe and North America
skyrocketed. North America experienced 214.7 million hits in the
first six months — well over the 139 million recorded globally in
all of 2022 and a 345% increase year to date. Worse, this wasn’t
the product of a single monthly spike: instead, it was month after
month of stable, yet relentless, cryptojacking totals.
But while North America still had the highest total cryptojacking
volume, it was Europe where hits jumped most dramatically.
Cryptojacking there had soared to 88.3 million hits by the end of
June 2023, a staggering 788% year to date.
The number of hits recorded in most countries tracked
with these patterns. In the U.S., cryptojacking jumped from
48 million to 211.7 million, a 340% increase year to date.
Germany also experienced a triple-digit jump, rising 139%
from 3.1 million to 7.4 million. And in the U.K., a 479% spike
brought the total number of cryptojacking hits to 6.8 million,
compared with 1.2 million last year.
A notable exception to this trend was India: Hits there
actually fell by nearly three-quarters, from 4 million to 1.1
million. Despite this drop, however, India still saw enough
cryptojacking attempts to make the Top 10 list.
Cryptojacking Trends
As we’ve seen, cybercriminals continue to shift away from
the quick payout of ransomware in favor of the slower,
behind-the-scenes approach of stealing compute power
to mine digital currency. To help their chances of success,
these cybercriminals constantly shift their tools, tactics
and procedures.
Here are some of the major developments in cryptojacking
observed in the first half of 2023:
• Threat actors have accelerated their shift from targeting
endpoints to targeting cloud services, including one
leveraging Kubernetes clusters to mine Dero
• MacOS endpoints have also been in the crosshairs, with
cracked versions of FinalCutPro being used to distribute
HonkBox cryptojacking malware
• Oracle WebLogic servers are the target of a new crypter
known as ScrubCrypt, designed to evade Windows
Defender protections
• The trend has continued to observe attackers skipping
cryptojacking altogether in favor of stealing crypto
directly: In late March, we observed a new variant of
AsyncRAT designed to steal Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether.
This excerpt is from an annual summation I received last week from one of my security vendors, specifically web & email security. This is one page of 35, one threat of dozens.
I removed any vendor association and links but the hackings exploits are real.
Top 10 Countries for Cryptojacking
1. United States
2. Denmark
3. Germany
4. France
5. United Arab Emirates
6. South Africa
7. Mexico
8. Canada
9. India
10. Brazil
Unsurprisingly, every region showed an increase in
cryptojacking — and most of these jumps were dramatic. The
sole exception was Asia, where researchers recorded
5.2 million hits — up just 1% from the same time period in 2022.
At 4.1 million hits, Latin America saw slightly less cryptojacking
than Asia, but this total represented a larger year-to-date
increase of 32%.
In contrast, cryptojacking in Europe and North America
skyrocketed. North America experienced 214.7 million hits in the
first six months — well over the 139 million recorded globally in
all of 2022 and a 345% increase year to date. Worse, this wasn’t
the product of a single monthly spike: instead, it was month after
month of stable, yet relentless, cryptojacking totals.
But while North America still had the highest total cryptojacking
volume, it was Europe where hits jumped most dramatically.
Cryptojacking there had soared to 88.3 million hits by the end of
June 2023, a staggering 788% year to date.
The number of hits recorded in most countries tracked
with these patterns. In the U.S., cryptojacking jumped from
48 million to 211.7 million, a 340% increase year to date.
Germany also experienced a triple-digit jump, rising 139%
from 3.1 million to 7.4 million. And in the U.K., a 479% spike
brought the total number of cryptojacking hits to 6.8 million,
compared with 1.2 million last year.
A notable exception to this trend was India: Hits there
actually fell by nearly three-quarters, from 4 million to 1.1
million. Despite this drop, however, India still saw enough
cryptojacking attempts to make the Top 10 list.
Cryptojacking Trends
As we’ve seen, cybercriminals continue to shift away from
the quick payout of ransomware in favor of the slower,
behind-the-scenes approach of stealing compute power
to mine digital currency. To help their chances of success,
these cybercriminals constantly shift their tools, tactics
and procedures.
Here are some of the major developments in cryptojacking
observed in the first half of 2023:
• Threat actors have accelerated their shift from targeting
endpoints to targeting cloud services, including one
leveraging Kubernetes clusters to mine Dero
• MacOS endpoints have also been in the crosshairs, with
cracked versions of FinalCutPro being used to distribute
HonkBox cryptojacking malware
• Oracle WebLogic servers are the target of a new crypter
known as ScrubCrypt, designed to evade Windows
Defender protections
• The trend has continued to observe attackers skipping
cryptojacking altogether in favor of stealing crypto
directly: In late March, we observed a new variant of
AsyncRAT designed to steal Bitcoin, Ethereum and Tether.
physics, chemistry background
like most things, if you were in on the start, you could have made a killing with crypto
the whole sam bankman-fried thing was a setup, the end result a matter of speculation but clearly it has several goals, including a quelling effect on crypto.
me, i was never keen on something of little intrinsic value as i see what i coming to our nation, our world (EMP or solar and/or complete economic collapse like the Great Depression only worse)
crypto is just like those Initial Public Offerings, something for the few in the know
I do hope I’m wrong but so much is lining up that I can’t not see it.
just like for stocks