Cryptojacking in the financial sector increased 269% in the first half of this year, cybersecurity firm SonicWall report..
The financial sector, which has had few cryptojacking incidents so far, faced the most attacks this year, according to the report.
In fact, the number of cryptojacking attacks in the financial sector is five times that of retailers facing the second highest number of attacks, the report said. This was despite the fact that the retail sector, which had a 63% increase in attacks this year, was least affected by cryptojacking until last year.
Therefore, the report states that 2022 brought about a “dramatic restructuring” in the sector targeted for cryptojacking. In the three sectors most affected by government, healthcare, education and regular cryptojacking, attacks fell by 78%, 87% and 96% in the first half of 2022, respectively.
Cryptojacking refers to the fraudulent use of people’s devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers to mine cryptocurrencies. Such attacks are intended to remain undetected by the victim.
Cryptojacking between sectors
According to the report, global cryptojacking volume in the first half of 2022 increased by 30% year-on-year to 66.7 million. However, the average percentage of victims targeted for cryptojacking in the first half of 2022 was lower than in the first half of 2021.
According to the report, January 2022 had the highest amount of cryptojacking, with a monthly record of 18.4 million attacks. This was significantly higher than the previous monthly cryptojacking record of 15.49 million, set in March 2020.
However, in the month following January, the amount of cryptojacking steadily decreased. In the first quarter of 2022, there were a total of 45.1 million cryptojacking attacks. However, in the second quarter, the amount of cryptojacking fell by more than 50% to 21.6 million, the report said.
According to the report, the decline in cryptojacking volume in the second quarter is consistent with the data recorded over the last few years and is known as the “summer slump in cryptojacking.” Therefore, based on data from the last few years, SonicWall expects cryptojacking attacks to be low in the third quarter and increase again in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Why cryptojacking is on the rise
With the proliferation of ransomware, the government is raising awareness and cracking down on ransomware operators through enforcement efforts. The report claims that this has increased the fever of ransomware criminals looking for low-risk cryptojacking.
For example, the developers of the AstraLocker ransomware code Look at cryptojacking Government surveillance is increasing earlier this month.
In ransomware, criminals block access to computer systems and demand a ransom to regain control. This involves a lot of communication with the victim, but cryptojacking does not allow the victim to detect the attack. The report argued that this meant “lower risk,” even if it meant lower wages.
“this [cryptojacking] It is less likely to be detected by the victim. EMEA’s SonicWall Vice President Terry Greer-King told Tech Monitor that unprotected users around the world are aware that their devices are slowing down beyond explanation. Is difficult to link to criminal activity.
Cryptojacking will continue as long as the opportunity to make money by quietly mining cryptocurrencies is available. The report also states that as pressure on ransomware operators increases, it may follow in the footsteps of AstraLocker developers.
