The global value of the cryptocurrency market has reached $2.37 trillion, surpassing Apple's market capitalisation of $2.33 trillion. With numerous exploratory talks and efforts underway, major banks and governments are beginning to dip their toes in the crypto water. Many people still see crypto currencies as a tool used by criminals as the primary currency of the dark web for ransomware payments and the buying and selling of illicit goods and services. While some of this is correct, crypto currency is not solely used for criminal purposes. In fact, 2021 will be the first year that Bitcoin will be recognised as a national currency. If history has taught us anything, it is that criminal activity and fraud always follow the money. The purpose of this press is not to argue for or against the use of crypto currency; however, given the current state of the crypto industry, both organisations and consumers should be aware of the risks.

How frequently have you forgotten your password? When it comes to crypto currencies, forgetting one's password takes on a whole new meaning. This risk isn't just about forgetting one's password, even if you think it won't happen to you because you use a password vault. While there are no known security flaws in your password vault, malware is increasingly targeting exchanges and stealing credentials – your password can be stolen simply by being infected. Of course, this type of attack is not limited to crypto currencies, but many crypto exchanges do not provide the same level of anti-fraud protection that traditional banks do.

A crypto currency can be created by anyone with a little programming knowledge. As a result, many scammers are taking advantage of the overall increase in popularity and people's genuine "fear of missing out" (especially those that were not early investors in Bitcoin). The Squid Game Token in 2021 was a prime example of this. Unfortunately, these types of scams are all too easy to set up and exploit as people rush to get in on the next big thing in crypto.

Another popular scam this year was the use of initial coin offerings (ICOs) to raise funds outside of the traditional funding systems available. While some may see this as simply fools parting with their money, it simply shows that the crypto market is still the wild, wild west, and if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

As the popularity of cryptocurrency grows, so will the attention of bad actors, whether they are nation states, malicious hackers, or fraudulent entities. One of the inherent challenges of cryptocurrency is the lack of standardisation and, dare I say, regulation. Not all crypto currencies are created equal, and neither are exchanges. This year's example was the two billion dollars stolen from the fraudulent Thordex exchange. Unfortunately, one must be concerned about more than just fraudulent exchanges. Because crypto currency is entirely software-driven, the entire crypto currency ecosystem is vulnerable to the same vulnerabilities that have plagued the software industry as a whole. Bitmart recently experienced a significant breach in which an estimated $150 million was stolen. Poly Networks was the victim of an attack in which an estimated US $600 million was stolen; while much of this was eventually returned, this should not have been expected.

Crypto currency has even resulted in the creation of a new type of malware: crypto miners. These rogue applications steal CPU cycles and use the resources of the targeted machine to mine for various crypto currencies as a source of passive income. One only needs to consider the major Log4j vulnerability to understand the massive exposure that this creates.

So, what can we expect in 2022 and beyond? Unfortunately, I believe that criminal activity in the crypto currency industry will continue to rise. As crypto currency adoption grows and becomes more integrated into commercial activities, so will the criminal activity targeting this complex supply chain. While some of the risks are shared by many of our traditional monetary systems, crypto currency in its current form introduces additional risks that everyone should be aware of before jumping in with both feet.

Those who choose to participate in the crypto currency market should always read the fine print, fully understand the risks involved, and never invest more than they are willing to lose. As this remains a popular attack vector for malware authors, it is critical for organisations to maintain visibility into how their computing resources are being used and who/what they are communicating with in order to prevent rogue crypto mining activities.

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