Is Cryptocurrency the New Target for Cyber Criminals?
Is Cryptocurrency the New Target for Cyber Criminals?
Disruption is happening everywhere! It is the new world mantra. Everyone is thinking about new things, innovation as we come to know it. We are in an age where new technologies are replacing old ways of doing things; nothing is the same again. From self-driven cars to electric cars, from video marketing to AI-powered service-based jobs, this breeze is touching every sector and fiber of our existence. The change is not innovation; it is disruption. But is this making cryptocurrency the new target for cybercriminals?
The financial space is not left out. Disruption hit the space with the introduction of cryptocurrency.
The decentralized digital currency seeks to bridge the foreign currency exchange gap, where one country’s currency is higher in value than the other and the cases of failing currencies as experienced in Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
According to Eyal Hertzog, Co-founder and Product Architect of Bancor and long-time cryptocurrency enthusiast:
“Cryptocurrencies as we know them today are only the tip of the iceberg. In the future, we’ll see tokens for everything from artists and artwork, to neighborhoods, charities, start-ups and more, creating new network models and embedding localized incentive structures into online and offline communities across the globe. Right now, the Libra project represents a watershed moment as Facebook, one of the largest corporations in the world, has entered the fray along with giants like eBay, PayPal, and Visa.”
The amazing opportunities that this disruption presents are numerous, and it gets better by the day. It is described by many as the currency of the future. Over the last few years, more blockchain companies have emerged, leading to more Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs).
We live in a fallen world, and every innovation opens the door to a new level of criminality. It is even worse when it is a disruption that started as a tool for buying guns and drugs on the dark web. Cryptocurrencies are yet to gain the worldwide acceptance it requires because of its decentralized nature, which creates less room for regulation.
The need for education.
Billionaire investors like Warren Buffet are known to be active on not investing in things they don’t understand. More education is required for this disruption to gain better acceptance. A couple of persons blindly invest in Cryptocurrencies, just because it is the latest thing and many others are plunging in.
One would imagine that millennials have it all figured out, but that is not the case.
If it is a disruption that is happening right in the face of the tech age and millennials don’t fully get it, it leaves a lot to be desired. The lack of education in this regard has created room for cybercriminals and fraudsters to prey on unsuspecting individuals.
The future is here for cryptocurrencies — and criminals.
China, one of the world’s largest economies, is borrowing a leaf from Facebook’s Libra, as the country plans to launch her digital currency soon. Will blockchain be the answer to data security? According to a report on Reuters, Mu Changchun, deputy director of the People’s Bank of China’s payments department, “the development of the coin would help protect the country’s foreign exchange sovereignty as commercial applications of such currencies expanded.”
With China wading into the digital currency space, the future is nearer than ever.
In the days to come, we would expect other world economic powers to join. The growth experienced in the Cryptocurrency market is both massive and disturbing. Disturbing because its digital nature opened the door for the most significant cryptocurrency scams and a window for cybercriminals to carry out their enterprise.
The menace: Cybercriminals
Cybercriminals are individuals or teams of people who use technology to commit malicious activities on digital systems or networks to steal sensitive company information or personal data and generate profit. These criminals access the cyber market through the dark web, from where they execute their malicious acts.
Hacking is different from cybercrime. A hacker alters system and security features in a bid to find new and innovative ways to use a system, for good or bad.
On cybercriminals targeting booming Cryptocurrencies, the Vice President of Strategy at Digital Shadows says, “Cybercriminals follow the money, and right now they see in the unregulated and largely unsecure world of digital currencies a huge opportunity to target people, businesses and exchanges and make money quickly and easily.”
A solution: Virtual Private Network.
Cybercriminals pray on lapses in the digital space to carry out their activities. What is a VPN? A VPN is an encrypted connection over the internet from a device to a network. This heavily secured connection ensures that sensitive data is securely transmitted without any interference from unauthorized persons.
While there is no perfect one-size-fits-all VPN service, choosing the best VPN service for you is key to securing your investment in cryptocurrencies and ensuring that no criminal activity is carried out via your space.
Whether or not cryptocurrency is the new hub for cybercriminals, you can protect yourself from malicious activities using VPN services. The disruption is here; we can either get on board or stand by the sides and count what could go wrong. Everyone needs to stay safe and secure online, consider picking a VPN service today.
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