Features 
News
Cryptocurrency Cybersecurity: Email Attacks Increase By 192%, Ransom Demands Grow By Millions
By Aleksandra Wilson
3 min read
•
July 12, 2021
The state of cryptocurrency cybersecurity is being shaken up. As the cryptocurrency craze grips the world more than ever, cybercriminals are using the opportunity to scam people and increase their profits through fraud and cyberattacks. Bitcoin’s price climbed by nearly 400% between October 2020 and April 2021, and cyber scams followed closely, growing by 192% for the same period.
How are these attacks being carried out? Criminals have primarily been impersonating cryptocurrency applications and issuing fake security signals to attempt and steal login details from cryptocurrency holders.
But not all users are faced with the same risk. Some users are more exposed just because their fellow countrymen are also buying into the crypto craze.
India’s Crypto-Users on Target
As Bitcoin’s usage grew around the world, so did its price. More and more businesses announced that they accept Bitcoin as a mainstream payment method. So, as Tesla, Visa, PayPal, and JPMorgan announced that they were adopting Bitcoin, the price of this “digital gold” grew.
Naturally, cyberattacks followed, growing by 192%. India had one of the highest numbers of drive-by download attacks and mining activities, according to Microsoft’s findings for 2020. Criminals in India and broader find cryptocurrency attacks enticing since the decentralized nature of virtual coins makes criminal activities a bit easier.
That led to a booming ransomware economy worth billions, cyber-extortion, and phishing. Not only are private individuals targeted, but essential infrastructure, as well. Such things mean that a country’s defense can even be at stake.
How Do These Bitcoin Scams Work?
A hacker contacts the potential victim, claiming to have compromising video or details on the person. The gist is – if you don’t pay me the sum I’m asking for, I’m going to make this information public. This type of extortion is as old as time itself. Still, as Bitcoin began growing in popularity and price, cyberattacks became more rampant, and criminals became more sophisticated in their methods.
We have already mentioned that phishing scams are on the rise, as well as compromising business emails. Over the last eight months, they have been on the rise. Hackers are imitating e-wallets and similar cryptocurrency applications. Just as criminals used to mimic banks to get your financial information, they are now stealing login details with the help of fake applications.
Cybercriminals have been eagerly using Bitcoin (BTC) as part of their business email attacks, compromising them and impersonating workers of different businesses. The criminals target and personalize emails to lure victims into buying BTC, donating Bitcoins to non-existing charities, and paying a fake vendor invoice using crypto!
Is Enough Being Done in Cryptocurrency Cybersecurity?
And while awareness of cryptocurrency cybersecurity risks is at record-high levels, we are still facing many challenges in preventing attacks. One can say that we are all just patching up a leaking pipe. There are unlimited chances for making an attack, and many attackers face no repercussions for their attempted fraudulent actions. And in time, some successful attacks are bound to happen.
Making ransomware a criminal activity is not enough, which we know from the example of the Colonial Pipeline that occurred recently. This company was forced to pay a 5 million ransom in US dollars after its IT network got hacked. While the investigative forces could recover a part of the Bitcoin sum used in the payment, the attack still left a mark, signaling that the cryptocurrency cybersecurity sector has a long way to go.
Load more
THE TOP 5 CRYPTOCURRENCIES WITH THE BEST GROWTH POTENTIAL!
By Aleksandra Wilson
3 min read
•
July 14, 2021
Are you planning to start investing in cryptocurrencies in 2021, given the current hype? There are over a thousand cryptocurrencies on the market right now, leaving you with a lot of options. So, how can you make a wise choice? This essay is intended to assist you.
To begin, you’ll need a way to purchase cryptocurrencies. This can be done using cryptocurrency exchanges or other methods like PayPal. To access crypto coins, you’ll also need a cryptocurrency wallet that can hold your blockchain link.
Now that you have all of the necessary facts to make an informed cryptocurrency investment, here are the top ten cryptocurrencies to consider.
1. Bitcoin
Bitcoin, the king of all cryptocurrencies, was the first of its kind to have the most liquid value. This cryptocurrency aspires to be a completely decentralized, global, peer-to-peer digital currency with no restrictions.
Despite the market’s volatility, Bitcoin remains the most stable. Bitcoin’s popularity, demand, and usage are likely to skyrocket in the coming years, despite the fact that the word is synonymous with cryptocurrencies. Companies are already embracing the concept of accepting Bitcoins as payment, paving the way for the future.
Bitcoin’s price today in USD: $58,120.22
2.Litecoin
Because of its market capital and liquidity value, Litecoin is ranked second on our ranking. Unlike Bitcoin, which has a restricted quantity of 21 million coins, Litecoin has an 84 million coin limit and a block reward of 12.5 LTC, which is more than other cryptos.
Litecoin’s price today in USD: $388.92
3.Ethereum
Ethereum was the first cryptocurrency to feature smart contracts, which allow developers to create decentralized applications using blockchain technology on desktop and mobile devices. Since then, Ethereum has remained among the top cryptocurrencies of all time, and it has a devoted following of investors who back it up. After Bitcoins, this indicates Ethereum has a higher chance of keeping stable.
Ethereum’s price today in USD: $4,066
4.Cardano
This is a low-cost cryptocurrency that is quickly becoming a cult favorite. With its Ouroboros blockchain, which consists of two blockchains instead of one, it has become a strong competitor in the industry since its establishment in 2015.
One blockchain will handle regular transactions, and the other will handle smart contracts. Cardano’s capacity to remain scalable and speedy is based on the fact that two types of transactions will not slow it down.
Another noteworthy piece of information about Cardano is that the majority of the cryptocurrency’s investors are from Japan. As a result, Cardano is dubbed the “Japanese Ethereum” since it employs the Proof of Stake method, which Ethereum has been considering for some time. Cardano’s market worth nearly reached $30.7 billion in February 2021.
Cardano’s price today in USD: $1.75
5.Ripple
Because its vision differs from the rest of the coins on this list, Ripple is included in this list. Ripple is a venture-backed firm that provides financial settlement services to banks in order to facilitate transactions across national borders directly and quickly.It has worked with significant banks around the world, including Bank of America, over the years. As a result, it’s better suited to institutional rather than consumer investment.
Big Tesla loss? Bitcoin’s rough quarter could lead Tesla to a $100M loss for Q2
By Aleksandra Wilson
3 min read
•
July 9, 2021
As we all know, there are no absolute winners in the game of trading. You win some, and you lose some. And it seems like company giant Tesla finds itself on the losing side for a change. According to reports, Tesla will probably have to list its Bitcoin (BTC) holdings at a loss. And we have the scoop on this Tesla loss.
And just back in February, Tesla announced its $1,5 billion investment in this so-called “digital gold” coin. Bitcoin was worth around 38,000 dollars at the time. It’s also worth mentioning that the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) states that BTC (and other intangible assets) has to be listed as an impairment charge if BTC falls under the value it was bought at.
Seeing how Bitcoin price keeps falling and is around $31,000 at the moment, hitting levels last seen in January, this Tesla loss may mean the company will be facing an impairment charge. In other words, it has to report the drawdown in a disclosure to the SEC.
Some analysts say that anonymous yet reliable sources claim that the impairment charge can lead to a loss between $25 million and $100 million for Tesla on paper. Also, Tesla can’t mark up the Bitcoin price it holds until the position occurs as a sale.
Musk Remains a Polarizing Persona
The question on everyone’s minds in the crypto world is: did the electric car company sell any BTC in the quarter to cover some of the losses? We know that Tesla sold 10% of its BTC holdings in Q1 2021, but Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk claimed they did that to prove that BTC is liquid enough to replace holding cash on balance sheets.
Musk has been dividing crypto lovers for a while now. Is he an ally or just another opportunistic capitalist billionaire? Tesla’s interest in Bitcoin investing helped push the coin into record-high levels in never-seen-before rallies.
But then the company did somewhat of a 180 and suspended Bitcoin payments, claiming it was concerned about the environmental impact the famed crypto has due to its tasking mining operations. Moreover, Musk continued to lobby for the Twitter-based Dogecoin, earning the scorn of many crypto enthusiasts.
Adding fuel to the fire, on July 7th, a Reddit user u/StablecoinsFraud started a thread claiming they got a now-deleted screenshot from Musk’s Twitter account. They claim that the eccentric billionaire posted a picture and quickly deleted it. The problem? The picture may have been posted to pump up Bitcoin prices. Coincidence or conspiracy?
What’s In Store For Bitcoin?
As we have mentioned, Bitcoin had quite the roller coaster in recent months. The second quarter of 2021 proved to be the toughest one yet for the cryptocurrency. It fell from record-high levels of more than $63,000 to record-lows of $30,000.
In Q1, Bitcoin saw fantastic returns of 102%, but Q2 brought that number to a meager -40%. Many larger companies began adopting Bitcoin as a payment method amid its surge, so they won’t be pleased with the news. Besides Tesla, other big names that have jumped on the bandwagon were PayPal, Visa, and many more.
Speaking about more, jump to our front page for more crypto-related news!
