1.1 billion dollars of cryptocurrency stolen in 6 months

The cybersecurity firm Carbon Black has announced that about $ 1.1 billion worth of cryptocurrencies have been stolen in the first half of 2018.

Carbon Black said criminals are taking advantage of the dark web to facilitate the theft of large-scale cryptocurrencies. It is estimated that there are 12,000 marketplaces and 34,000 deals associated with cryptocurrency theft of which cybercriminals could benefit. The dark web allows users to stay mostly anonymous and untraceable .

Carbon Black Security security expert Rick McElroy said basic malware costs an average of $ 224 and prices start at $ 1. According to the report, the malware market is worth $ 6.7 million .

The report notes that robberies can be perpetrated by organized crime cartels or criminal gangs, but it is often a qualified engineer who works alone and seeks additional income. McElroy added that sometimes products benefit from some form of customer service.

As McElroy explained, cyber-theft is "pretty easy to achieve" and anyone could be able to, not just notorious hacker groups.

"There are countries where coding is taught, but where there are no jobs in this sector, it could be for example two people in Romania who need to pay rent. "He adds :

Unlike banking and conventional financial transactions, cryptocurrency holders do not have institutional support to protect their savings or cover their losses in the event of fraud or hacker attacks.

McElroy said:

"Usually we depend on banks, the tools are there, and investors need to know how to use them. In this new gold rush, some are not aware and savvy, people use wallets online and do not secure their money. "

According to the study, the exchange platforms are the most popular target for cybercriminals this year, accounting for 27% of attacks. Also, criminals seem to prefer the monero . This cryptocurrency was used in 44% of the attacks because of its confidentiality and the difficulty in tracing transactions with respect to bitcoin, Carbon Black said. Monero also has relatively low transaction fees.