Did You Know That Cryptocurrencies Are Involved in Some Cybercrimes?

Cryptocurrencies are very diverse and can be exchanged for traditional currencies such as the euro. However, unlike these, their use is not protected by the authorities, which is why they are present in a wide variety of cybercrimes. Are you interested in this topic? In this article, we will delve a little more into the “dark” side of cryptocurrencies.

As we have indicated, the use of cryptocurrencies today does not have the protection of the State, so any type of damage caused by its use is the responsibility of the user. Specifically, financial risks have been the subject of numerous warnings by various international authorities and, by this joint statement from the Bank of Spain and the National Securities Market Commission. However, legal initiatives are being carried out in the European Parliament that establish the legal measures that companies that exchange cryptocurrencies for legal tender must comply with, and vice versa, to comply with international legislation for the prevention of the use of the system financing for money laundering or terrorist financing.

In any case, it must be taken into account that:

• Cryptocurrencies are not considered legal tender by the different central banks belonging to the Eurosystem.
• Neither is digital wallets supported, in the event of liquidation, as are bank accounts or deposits in euros or other currencies domiciled in Spain or other countries of the European Union.

Due to this, various authorities at the international level show their concern about the risks and speculative factors that explain its high volatility. Those who invest or are interested in investing in virtual currencies must be aware of the high risk it entails, not only due to its high volatility but also due to the high possibilities of fraud, as well as its possible use in illicit activities.

What Kinds of Illicit Activities Can Cryptocurrencies Be Involved in?

One of the best-known cases where cryptocurrencies were involved in illicit activities was the case of WannaCry, which caused a massive global cyberattack targeting companies and users. The criminals demanded a ransom in cryptocurrency in exchange for releasing the infected computers.

This type of activity, where cryptocurrencies become the favorite form of payment for cybercriminals, has become increasingly popular, whether through information hijacking, cryptocurrency mining, or theft of electronic wallets or wallets.

Below, we list several illicit activities related to cryptocurrencies.

• Ransomware. Did you know that 98% of ransomware payments are made in cryptocurrencies? As in the previous case, cyberattacks based on information hijacking or "ransomware" have experienced an increase since the appearance of this type of virtual currency. Bitcoin (BTC) is one of the most widely used payment methods in cases of ransomware infection.
• Fake wallets. With the growing popularity of cryptocurrencies, it is not surprising to see malicious applications posing as virtual wallets. Cybercriminals create applications that pretend to be an official wallet. They use the official logo and claim that it will allow us to convert our cryptocurrencies into others such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin, etc. However, once the cryptocurrencies are sent to the addresses listed in the application, they disappear from our app and end up in the hands of the cybercriminal.
• Cryptojacking. It is about the hijacking of an electronic device without the consent or knowledge of the user for the mining of cryptocurrencies. With time, the system has been improved, with methods that are increasingly difficult to detect. Once the mining software is run on the device, the app will only need access to the Internet to start executing its task.
• Other illegal activities. Although governments and some creators and developers strive to regulate or improve security, cryptocurrencies were created to be outside many of these regulations, and as we mentioned, this makes them a double-edged sword.

The main problem is that, due to the anonymity sought in the design of most cryptocurrencies, in many cases, there is no efficient way to track transactions made with cryptocurrencies that reduce the risk of their use for illicit activities. such as those already mentioned or others with an even more serious impact:

• financing of terrorism,
• blackmails and scams like sextortion,
• money laundering and

buying and selling illegal products on the "dark web", such as dangerous or counterfeit drugs or medicines that can cause the death of the consumer.

Did you know about these risks of cryptocurrencies? Have you ever bought or been offered the possibility of paying in cryptocurrencies? Use the best antivirus software to protect yourself from cybercrime related to cryptocurrencies.