Application security, Threat Management, Malware, Phishing

Scrooge Hackers Phish for Bitcoins, Google AdWords

As cryptocurrency enjoys greater acceptance, there has been a correlative influx of schemes to grab some of the virtual loot during the lucrative holiday shopping season.

Cisco's OpenDNS Security Labs has been tracking in recent weeks an uptick in phishing campaigns to usurp control of Bitcoin wallets.

First reported by the OpenDNS's blog, the attackers' ulterior motive is to gain access to Google Adwords and improve SEO by compromising targeted Gmail accounts. The latest trend, according to OpenDNS, mirrors a cause-and-effect pattern it detected this past summer of legitimate websites getting inadvertently altered to host Bitcoin wallet phishing activities, pushing up a steep hike in Bitcoin valuations. 

The OpenDNS research found a strong correlation between popularity, Bitcoin price and Bitcoin phishing attacks. However, the research firmi noted that ransomware incidents do not quite correlate with Bitcoin price, while phishing campaigns against Bitcoin wallets normally do.

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