Quick Hit: Bitcoin Sites Hyper-Vulnerable to Attacks
Interest in bitcoin has skyrocketed, and some investors are reportedly set to turn the price of a Happy Meal into multi-millions. With its popularity and its price going up, however, bitcoin sites have been targeted by those with malicious intent at alarming rates.
Cybersecurity company Imperva released its Q3 Global DDoS Threat Landscape Report, which found that Imperva mitigated DDoS attacks at three out of every four bitcoin sites it serves. Additionally, bitcoin was one of the top-10 targeted industries, despite its relatively small size.
"Why the large number of attacks on bitcoin exchange sites? This is a clear example of DDoS attackers following the money," said Igal Zeifman, director of marketing at Imperva. "As a rule, extortionists and other cybercriminals are commonly drawn to successful online industries, especially emerging ones that are less likely to be well-protected. Specifically, for bitcoin, the DDoS attacks we mitigated could also have been attempts to manipulate the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, something we know offenders had tried in the past."
Cybersecurity company Imperva released its Q3 Global DDoS Threat Landscape Report, which found that Imperva mitigated DDoS attacks at three out of every four bitcoin sites it serves. Additionally, bitcoin was one of the top-10 targeted industries, despite its relatively small size.
"Why the large number of attacks on bitcoin exchange sites? This is a clear example of DDoS attackers following the money," said Igal Zeifman, director of marketing at Imperva. "As a rule, extortionists and other cybercriminals are commonly drawn to successful online industries, especially emerging ones that are less likely to be well-protected. Specifically, for bitcoin, the DDoS attacks we mitigated could also have been attempts to manipulate the price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrency, something we know offenders had tried in the past."
