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Kaspersky has explored cryptocurrency user trends, finding that just 25 percent of respondents felt well informed about potential cryptocurrency cyberthreats, while 23 percent had no information at all. In a survey, Kaspersky also discovered that half respondents had been affected by cryptocurrency crime in some way, with 40 percent of crypto owners did not believe current protection systems for cryptocurrency were effective. These and other findings are in Kaspersky’s new report.
According to the recent survey, a significant proportion of individuals are unaware of the potential threats faced by cryptocurrency owners. Despite the increasing popularity of cryptocurrency, only 25 percent of respondents felt extremely or very well informed about the potential risks of using it, while 23 percent had no information at all. Moreover, awareness of these threats decreases with age, with younger consumers under 35 being more informed.
Cyber threats, such as virtual theft and scams, were among the most commonly cited negative aspects of using cryptocurrency, with 27 percent and 26 percent of respondents respectively highlighting them as their top concerns. While 38 percent of respondents were unaware they could become a target of crypto threats - even if they do not own cryptocurrency. It is worth noting that anyone can become a target for cryptominers – programs that secretly generate cryptocurrency for their owners using the resources of other computers, whether they own cryptocurrency or not.
In South Africa and APAC countries, crypto-investment fraud (23% and 15%, respectively) and fake apps (16% and 15%, respectively) are major concerns. Whereas in Europe, extortion attacks in which scammers threaten to reveal victims browsing history on adult websites unless they provide private keys or send cryptocurrency (13%) are the problem.
Half (49%) of all respondents had been affected by cryptocurrency crime in some way, revealing the wide range of criminal activities in the field. Additionally, 49 percent of surveyed individuals did not believe that current protection systems for cryptocurrency were effective, with 40 percent of current crypto owners not believing existing protection systems to be sufficient.
To maximize the benefits of using cryptocurrency safely, Kaspersky experts also recommend:
*Kaspersky commissioned Arlington Research to undertake quantitative global online research with 12,000 people from 16 countries: Austria, Brazil, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Turkey, UAE, the UK, and the USA.
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