Cybercriminals plot to extort Bitcoin from Russian banks

        Due to a certain degree of anonymity, digital currencies such as Bitcoin, which are more secure and private, are hailed as an alternative to real money. Because of this, it has quickly become a favorite target for criminal activities, such as money laundering and black market transactions. In recent years, cases of extortion and blackmail related to Bitcoin have also gradually emerged. According to Coin Telegraph, five Russian banks were attacked by a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack earlier this week. Cybercriminals threatened to launch more DDoS attacks if 50 Bitcoins (about $11,000) were not handed over.

Artyom Sychev, head of the security and information protection department of the Russian Central Bank , said that this type of attack with early warning indicates that some financial muscles in Russia are likely to be attacked.

Our monitoring channels received information last Saturday that several major financial institutions were about to be attacked. We contacted the banks and informed them of the details of this possible attack.

Sychev added that the attack failed to cause much damage as it did not affect the bank's operations and services.

However, this is not the first time that blackmailers have demanded Bitcoin. In August this year, criminals threatened Ashley Madison users to expose their information to their family and friends, and the price for keeping silent was 1.0000001 Bitcoin (about $220 ) per person.

The attack on Russian banks will not bring a better reputation to the tarnished reputation of cryptocurrencies due to their links to cybercrime. The Russian Ministry of Finance has even proposed an outright ban on it with a two- year prison sentence.

Under the proposed law, people who buy, sell or distribute cryptocurrencies would be fined $4,500 or perform 36 hours of prison labor.