SAAS Malware Used To Attack Crypto Wallets

The availability of  of cheap and easy-to-use malware on Dark Web markets means that it has never been easier for cyber criminals to steal crypto currencies.  In most cases, industry observers focus on attacks against large organisations, hacks of crypto currency exchanges or ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure. 

Now, hackers are have begun to use this readily available malware to steal smaller amounts of crypto-currency from individual users. 

Crypto currency has been a popular target for cyber criminals, whether they are stealing it via crypto-currency exchanges or demanding it as an extortion payment in ransomware attacks. Now blockchain software experts at Chainalysis  are warning there has been a significant increase in cheap malware available and easy to use by hackers who want to steal crypto-currency from users, resulting in a significant increase of crypto currency theft. 

Crypto Currency & Malware 

The growing value and use of crypto currency means that criminals increasingly launch attacks that aim to steal the money from the digital wallets of individual users. 

Malware refers to malicious software that carries out harmful activity on a victim’s device, usually without their knowledge. This can be as simple as stealing information or money from victims, but can also be much more complex and grand in scale.  For instance, malware operators who have infected enough devices can use those devices as a botnet, having them work in concert to carry out distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks, commit ad fraud, or send spam emails to spread the malware further. 

The vast majority of malware operators receive initial victim payments at private wallet addresses, though a few use addresses hosted by larger services. Of that smaller group, the majority use addresses hosted by exchanges, mostly high-risk exchanges that have low or no KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements.

Chainalysis states that crypto currency users are under threat from malware like information steals, clippers, and trojans. Malware clippers allow attackers to replace text that the user has copied. All of these types of malware are available on dark web sites for relatively small amounts of money. For example, one information stealer called Redline is advertised on Russian cyber crime forums for $150 a month. 

For most cyber criminals seeking to steal crypto currency, it is likely that they will make the money they paid for the malware back within the span of a few attacks. Chainalysis say that the cheap access to malware families such as Redline means that even low-skilled cyber criminals can use them to steal crypto currency from unassuming targets. For crypto users, the threat continues to grow.

Heimdal Security:     Oodaloop:      Chainalysis:      ZDNet:     FuntiTech

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