Unveiling the Dangers of Crypto Extortion and Steps to Shield Your Enterprise

The age-old detective mantra, “Follow the money,” remains relevant in solving crimes, although it gets a bit tricky when dealing with cybercrime. This is primarily because money, especially in the form of cryptocurrency, tends to be anonymous. Given this reality, it is increasingly crucial for businesses to ramp up their cybersecurity measures to protect themselves effectively.

A little over a decade ago, Silk Road emerged – an anonymous digital marketplace within the Darknet where drugs were freely traded. The platform utilized the Tor network to safeguard users’ privacy and leveraged Bitcoin cryptocurrency alongside dark wallets to obscure and encrypt transactions. The success of Silk Road, along with the novel form of crime it presented, pushed law enforcement to develop innovative strategies to combat cybercrime.

Since the advent of Silk Road, numerous other marketplaces have sprung up on the Darknet, coinciding with a dramatic increase in cryptocurrency value. For perspective, at Silk Road’s inception in 2011, a single Bitcoin was worth less than $1. Fast forward a decade, and it reached a record peak, trading at a whopping $68,789. While the value of Bitcoin has experienced a downturn from its peak, it is still trading at a significant value of 30,280 as of July 2022.

This soaring exchange rate, coupled with the element of anonymity, has elevated crypto to the preferred currency among cybercriminals who use it in numerous extortion campaigns. Consequently, the prevention of cyber extortion has emerged as a top priority for both businesses and law enforcement agencies.

Cybercriminals Use Various Cryptos for Anonymity

Recent developments in technology have shed light on how to link unique users to specific Bitcoin addresses, challenging the cornerstone privacy promise that Bitcoin has stood on since its inception. As a result, savvy cybercriminals are now transitioning to cryptocurrencies that prioritize increased transactional privacy, like Monero. It is noteworthy that several Darknet marketplaces now exclusively accept it.

New anonymous cryptocurrencies can effectively cloak any information about a transaction’s origin. This anonymity makes it impossible to identify the source and destination addresses associated with the transaction.

As law enforcement agencies intensify their efforts to tackle untraceable transactions involving cryptocurrencies, businesses continue to grapple with cyber extortion threats.

Crypto market participants are actively seeking solutions as well. Crypto exchanges are implementing specialized safeguards to prevent the use of illicit funds. They employ a tracker that specifically traces funds associated with thefts, hacks, and other criminal activities.

Combating Crypto Extortion

The prevalence of three major types of cyberattacks underscores the urgency for businesses to implement robust security measures.

1. Harmful Apps and Ransomware

The advent of cryptocurrency has facilitated cybercriminals’ ability to capitalize on ransomware attacks by allowing them to receive quick, instant payments in Bitcoins. However, the surge in ransomware incidents is just the tip of the iceberg.

The threat from fake and malicious mobile apps is growing as they can potentially gather private keys or other sensitive cryptocurrency-related data. According to the S-Trade security team, hackers often attempt to impersonate official applications. Users should always scrutinize the source of any app. For safety, it is best to verify the official website first and then download the application from there.

Among the measures an enterprise can implement to shield itself from a relentless wave of malicious applications, the adoption of a Zero Trust strategy proves most effective. The Zero Trust model operates on the “Never trust, always verify” principle. That is to say, permissions are granted to users, devices, applications, or services only after thorough verification.

2. Cloud Mining Attacks

Another evolving trend to watch is the increase in exploits aimed at harnessing cloud resources, particularly CPU power, for cryptocurrency mining, also known as cryptojacking. Cybersecurity experts estimate that an attack on cryptocurrency cloud mining can cost around $140 per month for just one machine.

With the capacity to instantly set up new mining ventures and harness multiple cloud resources, businesses could face a steep rise in costs if such malicious intrusions go unnoticed. Any company that uncovers cryptojacking within their systems should consider it a warning sign that their cloud infrastructure could potentially be susceptible to other types of cyber threats. 

To ensure your cloud infrastructure is properly configured and complies with all security requisites, it is vital to maintain ongoing checks and visibility. Key measures to take include:

• Implementing real-time monitoring across the entirety of your cloud infrastructure.
• Automatically cross-checking against established best practices for cloud infrastructure configuration.
• Outlining clear, step-by-step vulnerability remediation procedures.
• Conducting regular security compliance reviews.
• Providing detailed reporting.

Implementing robust monitoring and protection tools can help automate the proactive prevention of vulnerabilities and fortify the security of your cloud infrastructure.

3. Crypto Fraud

The surge in cryptocurrency popularity opens up a world of opportunities for cybercriminals, leading to a spike in fraud incidents related to its usage. For instance, in early 2022, cybersecurity experts identified about 250 fraudulent cryptocurrency wallets for both iOS and Android platforms. These fake wallets were used to swindle over $4 million, exploiting the irreversible nature of crypto transactions.

In this context, businesses must adopt a proactive stance to fend off these threats and prevent theft. Email security emerges as a particularly critical area, given its frequent use in fraud schemes. 75% of all threats are tied to email issues. It is worth noting that Business Email Compromise (BEC) ranks among the top incidents leading to huge losses.

An email compromise is not always about sending harmful links or attachments, which is why traditional security measures often miss it. The best way to decrease such risks involves a three-fold approach: educating your employees, enhancing your procedures, and continually keeping an eye on potential threats. These strategies significantly amplify their effectiveness when paired with multi-tiered email and IM security solutions. Modern technologies employ artificial intelligence, machine learning, and behavioral analysis to form a formidable line of defense against cybercriminals.

Unified Response: The Key to Crypto Security

Enterprises need to adopt a comprehensive IT platform that offers complete visibility, detection, and response capabilities throughout the entire attack lifecycle. Today, AI is playing a transformative role in IT Service Management (ITSM). With the revolution of AI in ITSM, predictive analytics is now leveraged to help businesses make more reliable decisions, optimizing resources and improving ROI. This is crucial not only for efficiently managing IT operations but also for combatting cybercrime.

However, addressing the largest issues requires collective action beyond the boundaries of individual organizations. The fate of the Silk Road serves as a clear example of this. Despite its rapid growth and tremendous success, the anonymous marketplace was ultimately taken down, leading to the arrest and conviction of its creator. While the use of Bitcoin and Tor to conceal identities posed significant challenges in the investigation, the collaborative efforts of various organizations played a crucial role in punishing the culprits.

By joining forces and leveraging a unified cybersecurity platform, businesses can fortify their defenses and safeguard themselves against the damaging impact of crypto extortion.