Hackers are now going after the Philippines’ growing bitcoin business.
Kaspersky said this because recent data shows that cryptocurrency-related cyberattacks will hit the Philippines more than any other country in Southeast Asia.
Kaspersky records showed that there were 24,737 crypto-phishing attacks in the Philippines. This is why the attack is called “crypto-phishing.”
This was a big jump from the 9,164 attacks on Filipino users that Kaspersky found in 2021.
Last December, the Anti-Cybercrime Group of the Philippine National Police (PNP-ACG) also warned the public about a similar plan.
Digital Wallet Security Updates: How to Report a Cybercrime to PNP-ACG
The group told people about fake cryptocurrency apps that try to get money from workers getting Christmas bonuses.
Filipinos who want to put their money in digital assets should first check with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) to see if a company called a Virtual Asset Service Provider (VASP) is regulated.
The Philippines, on the other hand, are only second to Vietnam in terms of how many crypto-phishing attacks they get.
In the same year, 64,080 crypto-phishing attacks happened in Vietnam, making it the most targeted in Southeast Asia.
In 2021, there were a lot more strikes on Vietnam. During that year, Kaspersky users in that country were attacked 75,816 times by crypto-phishing.
During the launch of a new product, Adrian Hia, who is the managing director for Asia Pacific at Kaspersky, told reporters that hackers are now more “sophisticated” than they used to be.
“There’s no boundaries. Any form of touch they (hackers) have the capability to have a malware install,” Hia said.
The executive also said that the numbers showed that hackers are moving away from malware, which is still very popular, and toward the cryptocurrency market in Southeast Asian countries.
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