Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has published a new report, going through an analysis of their 2022 forecasts while making fresh predictions for 2023. A major prediction made by the security giant is that crooks will soon move away from cryptos such as Bitcoin (BTC) as regulations and tracking technologies improve.
However, before going into their predictions for the next year, let’s take a look at the analysis of 2022 so far.
Crypto crimes in 2022
The firm said that it saw a lot of crypto-related risks in 2022 that cost people millions of dollars. Cybercriminals have stolen $3 billion from DeFi protocols since the year began, totaling 125 crypto breaches.
The most recent DeFi statistics indicate that 15 freshly deployed schemes against smart contracts are discovered per hour. If things continue as they are, 2022 will probably eclipse 2021 as the most prolific year for hacking ever. Due to the lack of cutting-edge security for smart contracts, these platforms are vulnerable to assaults, and depending on the business, there is a risk of significant financial loss.
In addition, Kaspersky noted that as the use of crypto has grown, so too have cryptocurrency scams. However, it claimed that as cryptocurrency has gained popularity, consumers are less likely to fall for crude con games.
Phishing and cryptojacking attempts have risen in 2022 as well, as fraudsters use social engineering to seduce their victims. Cryptojacking includes the injection of malware to steal digital assets. The goal of phishing is to trick a victim into disclosing personal information or clicking a dangerous link by sending them carefully crafted emails or messages.
Predictions for the future
In addition to other cryptocurrency-based financial fraud (such as the exploitation of weak smart contracts), cybercriminals will continue to try to steal money through phony ICOs and NFTs. However, they will make these schemes more sophisticated and pervasive.
Cybercriminals will shift away from using Bitcoin in favor of alternative methods of value transfer. This is because sanctions are issued more frequently, markets are more tightly controlled, and technology for tracing the flow and sources of funds has advanced.