Cryptocurrency exchanged for data

Last year, the number of attacks on crypto services doubled in the world, and the number of leaked databases related to them turned out to be three times more than in 2021. The share of Russians in them is 5-10%. Experts note that data is mainly leaked from centralized sites, which in 2022 massively limited access for Russian citizens. Fraudsters use the data obtained both for classic phishing and for registering accounts for laundering operations, as well as stealing client funds.

Information security experts interviewed by Kommersant say that in 2022 the number of attacks on crypto services has doubled in the world. At the same time, according to Igor Agievich, a security specialist for distributed registries at Positive Technologies, the number of databases leaked from crypto services has tripled. According to independent expert Andrei Barkhota, up to a thousand databases of crypto services were stolen in 2022, which corresponds to 10 million customer identifiers.

The share of Russians in the leaked databases of crypto services, as a rule, does not exceed 5–10%, market participants believe. So, in one of the three databases analyzed by Positive Technologies, Russians accounted for 9.4 thousand records out of a total of 200 thousand records. In the other two databases, almost 150,000 had less than a hundred entries relating to Russian clients.

The leakage of personal data occurs in the vast majority of cases from centralized crypto services in the form of theft of KYC data (providing the identity of the client), as well as credentials, said Alexander Peresichan from Tehnobit and Satoshi Spirit. These services include most crypto exchanges and some crypto wallets that require verification during registration, you can register without it, but the withdrawal of funds will be limited, explains Roman Nekrasov, co-founder of the ENCRY Foundation.

Any data leakage threatens the user, regardless of his country of residence, with the fact that the data will be used for criminal fraudulent purposes. Information can be used for phishing, for example, on behalf of companies that have had a leak, Mr. Agievich said. Under the guise of any offers or promotions, or to confirm data, users may receive letters with links to phishing resources, he added.

At the same time, the stolen KYC data is mainly “sold for large sums to those who need passports with client photos,” Mr. Peresichan believes. With this data, fraudsters can register accounts on crypto exchanges, and then use them to launder cryptocurrencies stolen or otherwise fraudulently obtained, Roman Nekrasov explained. “In the DeFi segment (in decentralized services.— “b”) there are also thefts of data necessary for attackers, but of a different type – these are private keys and seed phrases (a 12-word phrase that is needed to restore access to a bitcoin wallet.— “b”). Having received a private key or a seed phrase, attackers instantly withdraw all funds from users’ wallets,” adds Alexander Peresichan.

Last year, large crypto exchanges limited Russians access to their services. At the same time, according to Roman Nekrasov, Russian citizens can use about 17 million crypto wallets worth over $200 billion. like the majority – “up to $ 10 thousand at best,” says Mr. Nekrasov.

In order not to become a victim of scammers on crypto services, experts generally give a standard set of recommendations. So, they advise not to share credentials, private keys, seed phrases and your computer with other people, to check devices for malware. You should always use all available methods of multi-factor authentication, come up with complex passwords, notes Alexander Peresichan. You should also save the original links to the crypto services used in favorites and go to them through this functionality, the expert specified. He emphasizes that it is important to check messages carefully before clicking on links.

Ksenia Kulikova, Yulia Poslavskaya, Tatiana Isakova