BitInc

Kroll Report Taps Bitcoin as Major Cyberthreat in China

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China is a country where cryptocurrencies are frowned upon. This is for many different reasons, including disturbing the financial ecosystem. However, there is another big threat most people seem to be unaware of right now. A lot of new Bitcoin-related scams have appeared out of nowhere. These are the findings of Kroll, a global risk management firm. At this rate, it is highly unlikely China will ever soften its stance on cryptocurrency.

The findings by global risk management firm Kroll paint a worrisome future. China is home to a lot of Bitcoin-related scams as of right now. Given the government’s negative stance toward cryptocurrencies, that is a bit of a surprise. At the same time, this is also part of a growing fraud threat in the country. More specifically, close to 90% of all Chinese companies faced some form of cybercrime in 2017. This is an extremely worrisome trend, and it’s unsurprising Bitcoin plays a role in all of this.

China Falls Victim to More Cybercrime

More specifically, the country is in the process of adopting new technologies. With every new generation of innovation come additional security risks. Innovations make the consumers’ daily lives more convenient, but they also bear risks. As such, we see more and more cyber fraud and scams in the Chinese market right now. Cybercriminals are targeting people who have an interest in Bitcoin for quite some time now. This report seems to indicate that trend will only continue for quite some time to come.

For the time being, it is a bit unclear how people in China are defrauded for Bitcoin exactly. The most common cyber threats include viruses, phishing, and data breaches. Data deletion, wire transfer fraud, and ransomware are all in the lower segments as of right now. This seems to indicate the role of Bitcoin is a lot less prominent than most people might expect at this time.  Since the report is not too clear on this front, Bitcoin’s role remains unclear for the time being.

One thing is certain: Chinese companies need to step up their game. A lot of companies have increased fraud awareness as we speak. However, there is still room for future improvements. Especially when it comes to conducting proper background checks, things can certainly improve a lot. Hiring the right people to take care of these problems is the top priority right now. Most of the cyber threats can be avoided with common sense as well.