Within the last 12 months, there have been 13 million reported cases of cryptocurrency jacking. This is according to the reports from a survey conducted by Kaspersky Lab, a Russian based cyber-security firm. This isn’t a surprise because cryptocurrency related crimes have been one of the hottest topics in the financial community. As cryptocurrency adoption grows and more people get to learn about the industry, the crime rate has also increased. This is the highest high it has ever reached.

Cryptocurrency Jacking In 2018

While the price fall this year has been the hottest topic in the cryptocurrency industry, the real issue isn’t the drop in price but the rise in the level of cryptocurrency related crimes. Kaspersky Lab has reported a lot of information about cryptocurrency related crimes this year. The Russian based company conducts research in cyber-security and its recent research was about cryptocurrency related crimes.

Last year, there were only 3.5 million cases of cryptocurrency jacking reported. Now, the number is as high as 13 million indicating that there has been a 400% increase in crypto-related crimes. Of all the cryptocurrencies in the world, the privacy-focused ones have been the most involved in these crimes. For example, because of its anonymous nature, Monero (XMR) is one of the favorites of cybercriminals.

These cybercriminals hijack computers remotely and divert funds to their wallet addresses. The highest volume of cryptocurrency related crimes were recorded in Africa and the Middle East. It went up fourfold in these places within the last twelve months.

Jacking Cryptocurrencies With Malware

Malware has also been used by attackers. In this case, the attack uses a malware script to gain access to a computer of a user and secretly mines cryptocurrencies without the users knowledge. Monero (XMR) has also been the most common option for cryptocurrency malware attacks. Since the malware is silent, it can start stealing a computer owner’s operating power without any knowledge of the user. If it is not identified and stopped, it will eventually cause damage to the CPU of the computer. The consequence can be speed reduction, overloading processor or complete damage.

Before now, the number one form of cybercrime was ransomware. Now, hackers are moving from ransomware attacks to cryptojacking. So, a rise in the number of cryptocurrency jacking has led to a fall in the number of ransomware attacks.

Bitcoin (BTC) Price Today – BTC / USD

Name Price 24H % $10,911.84 -0.08%

The rate of cryptocurrency related crimes spiked in the early part of the year when the prices of cryptocurrencies reached their all-time-highs. The fact that an alarming 13 million incidents were reported is a cause for concern. The industry needs to do something to curb this crime rate.