FBI warns digital currency exchanges and crypto owners of possible threats – Bitcoin News

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued an industry-wide warning of possible attacks on exchanges and crypto holders this week. The institute stated that there are threats that are actively pursuing virtual asset platforms to take possession of these assets, resulting in financial loss. Sim swapping, account theft, and technical support staff are the means to carry out these attacks.

FBI expects attacks on cryptocurrencies

The FBI warned of impending attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges and holders last week. The alert was broadcast using the TLP protocol to distribute the desired information to specific groups. It was given the green label, which means that the FBI allows colleagues and partner organizations in the crypto community to share this information.

The FBI says there are groups that are actively tracking vulnerabilities in these companies in order to take action. It explains that these groups use a set of techniques to accomplish these resources. These techniques include sim swapping, tech support fraud, and account theft. The warning also includes some recommendations for institutions to keep their holdings safe: watch incoming emails and monitor accounts for unusual movements.

The FBI advises cryptocurrency holders to always use two-factor authentication and to be aware of the information they share on social media. However, it is very difficult to prevent sim swap attacks.

Sim swap

Sim swap attacks are difficult to tackle because they are relatively easy to perform. The attacker only needs to find out the phone number of the potential victim. Then these attackers take two different forms: The first is identity theft, in which the attackers trick the technicians into believing that the person concerned has lost or damaged the SIM card. This causes them to issue the attacker with a new SIM card.

The other vector involves inside contacts in a telephone provider. The attacker uses this contact to get a new Sim with the number of the potential victim. That way, they can get access from exchanges even if some type of multi-factor authentication defense is in place. The FBI has already warned of these dangers.

Some high profile sim swapping cases have been publicized: Michael Terpin, a blockchain investor, sued AT&T for $ 200 million in damages for negligence after suffering a sin swapping attack in 2020. A judge eventually dismissed the lawsuit, but found sim swapping and cryptocurrencies in public. In addition, Europol thwarted a sim swapping operation that stole more than $ 100 in cryptocurrencies last February.

What do you think of the FBI’s recent warning about possible attacks on cryptocurrencies? Let us know in the comments section below.

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