Cyber ​​crooks abandon BTC as regulation and tracking improve: Kaspersky

The cybersecurity firm has predicted that crypto-related cybercrime won't slow down in 2023, but it will shift from Bitcoin as a source of payment.

Bitcoin (BTC) is expected to be a less attractive payment choice for cybercriminals as regulations and tracking technologies improve, hampering their ability to move funds securely.

Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky in a Nov. 22 report noted that ransomware trading and payments will depend less on Bitcoin as a transfer of value as increased digital asset regulations and tracking technologies will force cybercriminals to turn away from bitcoin and adopt other methods.

As Cointelegraph reported, ransomware payments using crypto topped $600 million in 2021, and some of the biggest heists, such as the Colonial Pipeline attack, demanded BTC as a ransom.< /p>

Kaspersky also noted that crypto scams have increased alongside the increased adoption of digital assets. However, he said people have become more aware of crypto and are less likely to fall for primitive scams such as Elon Musk-deepfake videos promising huge crypto returns.

He predicts that malicious actors will continue to try to steal funds through fake initial token offerings and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), and that crypto-based theft, such as contract exploits intelligent, will become more advanced and widespread.

2022 has largely been a year of bridge feats with more than