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Over 90% of online trackers are from Facebook, Microsoft and Google

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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93.7% of online trackers are from Facebook, Microsoft and Google, with the latter’s making up 49.9% of all trackers found on the web.
That’s according to research from Atlas VPN, which notes that Google’s YouTube and ad network Doubleclick also have a significant share of trackers online. YouTube has a 13.8% share, while Doubleclick trackers make up 8.3%.
Out of all trackers, Facebook’s trackers make up 15.7% of the share. Facebook, Atlas VPN reminds us, has suffered multiple data breaches in the past and has been involved in privacy scandals.
Microsoft’s trackers are the least common in this list, with 6% of the share. Finally, Hotjar has a 6.3% share of trackers online. Their tracker helps websites collect IP address, device type, operating system browser type, window size, and content.
Beyond trackers, other web privacy threats exist that can corrupt your safety online.
Session replay script was found in 35% of the scanned websites. This type of threat captures visitors’ journey on the website. During the recording of the user’s session, the script may also capture personal identifiable information (PII).
Fingerprinting scripts were present in 30.9% of websites. About one out of four (24.9%) websites had a newly registered domain name. Foreign actors from countries like Russia, Belarus, China, and Iran originated 9% of malicious scripts. Malware and bad SSL were each present in just 0.1% of websites.
To read the full research result, click here.

Top 5 crypto cyberthreat statistics of the last year

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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Firstly, cryptocurrency companies are fairly new to the market but deal with a lot of sensitive information, including the client’s funds. Secondly, crypto payments are irreversible and uncontrolled by central authorities, so it is easier for criminals to run away with stolen funds.
Lastly, many newcomers are not very knowledgeable about how cryptocurrencies work, making it easier for criminals to scam them. These are just some reasons why crypto-related cyber crimes are still going strong. In this article, the Atlas VPN team has compiled a list of the top five most notable cryptocurrency threat statistics and findings of the last year…
#1 Crypto hackers stole almost $2 billion in H1 2022 (Source)
 
Even with the crypto market on the decline, cryptocurrency project hacks are not going anywhere. In the first half of 2022, cybercriminals cashed in $1.97 billion from 175 crypto project hacks.
Over $1 billion were looted from the Ethereum ecosystem projects alone. The Solana ecosystem also suffered greatly, with hackers stealing $383.9 million from Solana-related projects.
 
#2 Crypto miners were the most-common malware family in 2021 (Source)
There are many types of malware, and each is used for different attacking objectives. All malware is classified as malicious software and can crack passwords, spread through networks, or disrupt the daily operations of organizations. In 2021, the most widespread malware family was cryptominers, with about 150K such threat detections.
Cryptominers have become extremely popular among cybercriminals over the past year. By using CPU and GPU resources of victims’ devices, threat actors mine various crypto for profit. Sometimes such malware can stay on the device unnoticed for months.
#3 Over $12 billion in crypto stolen in the past decade (Source)
The crypto industry’s technology has improved dramatically since the launch of Bitcoin in 2009. Despite this, many cryptocurrency providers have failed to develop effective security mechanisms that would prevent hackers from exploiting vulnerabilities for personal benefit at the expense of their victims.
Research revealed that more than $12 billion of crypto assets were stolen in the past 11 years. In addition, 40% of the funds were stolen from fraudulent exchanges, while Decentralized Finance (DeFi)-related hacks continue to surge.

#4 Blockchain.com, Luno, and Cardano are the top-most phished crypto projects (Source)

One of the phishers’ favorite tactics is impersonating well-known brands, and cryptocurrency brands are no exception.

Out of all cryptocurrency service brands, the website of Blockchain.com was the most commonly spoofed. The brand had 662 phishing websites in the last 90 days (till June 22, 2022). Blockchain.com is followed by the crypto investing app Luno, with 277 phishing pages, and proof-of-stake blockchain platform Cardano with 191.

#5 DeFi-related hacks accounted for 76% of all major hacks in 2021 (Source)

Decentralized finance (DeFi) is a system that enables the availability of financial products on a public decentralized blockchain network. Buyers, sellers, lenders, and borrowers can interact peer-to-peer through DeFi instead of going through intermediaries such as banks or brokerages when arranging transactions.

The Atlas VPN team found that DeFi-related hacks made up 76% of all major hacks in 2021. Furthermore, hackers stole $361 million from DeFi projects in the first half of 2021, which surpasses losses from 2020 by 180%.

Cyberattacks surge by 33% in a year

 960 640 Stuart O'Brien
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According to the data presented by Atlas VPN, cyberattacks have increased by 33% since last year – The total amount of malicious attacks in Q1 rose from 538 in 2020 to 713 in 2021.

In January 2020, there were a total of 160 cyberattacks. Meanwhile, January 2021 saw 183 malicious attacks — 14% more than the same month last year.

Looking at February’s numbers, we can see a tremendous increase in cyberattacks in 2021 compared to 2020. Malicious attacks jumped by 33% from 191 in 2020 to 254 in 2021.

In March 2021, cyberattacks grew more than 50% compared to March 2020. The total number of attacks went up from 187 to 276.

Cybersecurity writer and researcher at Atlas VPN, William Sword, said: “A significant increase in cyberattacks has shown that many companies or government administrations are not prepared to handle cybersecurity threats. With more and more people becoming victims of hackers, responsible institutions should step up their efforts in the cybersecurity field.”

Cybercriminals employ various techniques to penetrate vulnerable systems. Malware continues to be one of the most used techniques for cyberattacks. In Q1 2021 it was employed in 32% of all cyberattack cases. Hackers use malware to trick a victim into providing personal data for identity theft.

Unknown attacks were the second most-used in the first quarter of this year at 22%. The unknown threat is classified as such when a security product cannot recognize its code, which is why it is tough to stop such attacks.

Next up is account takeover (ATO). This type of cyberattack technique was used in 14% of all cyberattacks in Q1 2021.

Click here to read the full report.