Cryptojacking attacks increased by 399% in 2023
Date: 2023-07-28 Author: Karina Ziganova Categories: BLOCKCHAIN, IN WORLD
Cybercriminals are increasingly resorting to remote hacking of servers and devices, forcing them to mine cryptocurrencies without the knowledge of their owners. This is stated in the SonicWall report
The study states that 332.3 million cryptojacking attacks were registered in the first half of 2023, which is 399% more than in the whole of last year. This figure is also higher than the number of attacks in 2020, 2021 and 2022 combined. As a result, cybercriminals have accumulated a significant amount of bitcoin (BTC).
"This nefarious practice has become a new way for hackers to operate, as organizations increasingly refuse to pay the ransom," said Spencer Starkey, vice president of SonicWall EMEA.
Analysts point out that cybercriminals are increasingly choosing this method of theft due to the increased activity of law enforcement agencies and tough sanctions.
"The seemingly endless digital assault on businesses, governments and citizens of the world is intensifying, and the threat landscape continues to expand," said SonicWall CEO Bob VanKirk.
Geography of attacks
According to SonicWall's semi-annual report, the United States, Denmark, Germany, France, and the United Arab Emirates were the hardest hit by cryptojacking, with incidents rising by 788% across Europe.
This type of attack is up 479% year-over-year in the UK. Meanwhile, there were 214 million attacks in the United States in 2023 alone, up 340% from a year earlier. Moreover, the attacks affected enterprises, cities, airlines and even schools.
Crypto hackers laundered millions of dollars in 2023
Since the beginning of the year, attackers have been able to launder about $244.5 million in cryptocurrency. Most of all, hackers laundered as part of the hacking of the Harmony Bridge cross-chain bridge (about $ 100 million).
In second place is the incident around the Atomic Wallet. The attackers were able to launder $65 million, although, according to Elliptic, about $100 million was stolen.
