There’s a new scam targeting cryptocurrency traders in India, your money

If you are trading in cryptocurrency, there is a new botnet variant that you need to beware of; About this. Cybersecurity firm Check Point Research has reported a new version of the botnet called Twizz, which is said to have stolen nearly half a million dollars worth of cryptocurrency through a technique known as “crypto clipping”. This scam is mainly targeting traders from India, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

Twizt is another variant of the Phorpiex botnet family that steals cryptocurrency during transactions by automatically replacing the desired wallet address with the wallet address of the attacker.

The cybersecurity firm warned cryptocurrency traders to be wary of who they send money to, as 969 transactions have already been intercepted. The new Twizz botnet can operate without active command and control servers and evade security mechanisms.

According to a report by Check Point Research, in 12 months, $3.64 Bitcoin, 55.87 Ether and $55,000 were taken in ERC20 tokens. In a single instance, 26 ETH were hijacked.

What is crypto clipping and how does it work?

Twizzt uses a technique called “crypto clipping”, which is the theft of cryptocurrency during transactions through the use of malware that automatically replaces the targeted wallet address with the wallet address of the threat actor. As a result, the money goes into the wrong hands.

“The new version of Forpix involves three main risks. First, Twizz uses a peer-to-peer model and is able to receive commands and updates from thousands of other infected machines. Downing a peer-to-peer botnet It is harder to carry and disrupt its operation. This makes Twizt more stable than previous versions of Phorpiex bots. Second, as well as older versions of Phorpiex, Twizt can steal crypto without any communication with C&C. Therefore, it is easy to avoid security mechanisms such as firewalls to do harm. Third, Twizt supports over 30 different cryptocurrency wallets from different blockchains, including major ones such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Dash, Monero.” Alexander Chalitko, Cyber ​​Security Research and Innovation Manager at Check Point Software, explained.

“This creates a huge attack surface, and basically anyone using crypto can be affected. I strongly urge all crypto currency users to check the wallet address they copy and paste. Double check, as you may be inadvertently sending your crypto into the wrong hands,” he said.

Between November 2020 and November 2021, Phorpiex bots hijacked 969 transactions, leading to the theft of $3.64 Bitcoin, 55.87 Ether and $55,000 in ERC20 tokens. The value of the stolen property at current prices is approximately half a million US dollars. At times, Phorpiex was able to hijack large amounts of transactions. The largest amount for an intercepted Ethereum transaction was 26 ETH.

read all breaking news, today’s fresh news And coronavirus news Here.

,