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Hackers Extorted $28 Million in Cryptocurrencies last years, says FBI

cryptocurrencies, cybercrime, cryptocurrency cybercrime. ransomware, wannacry ransomware, pitya ransomware

Hackers stealing and extorting $28.3 million in cryptocurrencies in 2016, victims lost $1.33 billion to cyber criminals

It is important to note that according to the US Department of Justice, only 15% of victims report crime. The figures announced in this report would therefore be well below reality. In 2016, victims lost $1.33 Billion in form of cryptocurrencies.

After studying the reports of victims, the FBI makes the top of the cybercrimes

 The BEC (Business Email Compromise), advanced fishing form or hacker takes the electronic appearance of a company’s superior, often the CEO, in order to extract passwords, execute remittances or Retrieve sensitive information from employees, customers, suppliers, etc. This form of cybercrime would have cost the victims more than $ 360 million.

Ransomwares, like Wannacry or Pitya, encrypt the contents of a computer system and require payment against the decryption key. They are often coupled with a count indicating how much time the victim still has to pay before the data are permanently erased. The FBI counted 2673 such cases with an estimated loss of $ 2.4 million. Payments of these “ransoms” are often made in crypto-currencies.

The report also cites “technician” attacks, where a hacker poses as a technician who, under the guise of repairing a problem remotely, takes control of a system in order to carry out its illegal activities. Many companies including Microsoft and Mozilla regularly alert their customers against such maneuvers. This cybercrime would have cost the victims approximately $ 7.8 million.

Another type of attack seems to be very in vogue, it is the business of extortion on the Internet, a classic. Cybercriminals threaten to disclose sensitive information about the victim, if they do not receive a certain amount of money. These 17,146 crimes would represent $ 15 million in casualties.

Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of 3.7%, with an estimated loss of more than $ 380 million.

 Excluding the United States, Here are the “Top 5 countries most affected”:

  •  Canada with 3722 cases.
  • India with 2188 businesses.
  • United Kingdom with 1509 cases.
  • Australia with 936 cases.
  • France with 568 cases.

In the United States, California wins hands down with 39,547 deals, followed by Texas, 21,441 deals then Florida with 21,068 cases.

The FBI also compared the most affected age groups, and it is no surprise that those over the age of 60 are the most affected, with the biggest hardship and the largest number of cases.

 KryptoMoney.com posts latest news and updates about Cryptocurrencies and Blockchain Technology.

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