In 2021, malicious programs for illegal cryptocurrency mining or cryptocurrency wallet theft began spreading through unique NFT tokens and mobile applications, according to Kommersant.

Alexander Pirozhkov, head of ESET Threat Inelligence, told the publication that previously such viruses were mainly infected via torrent resources and sites with adult content.

According to ESET, gamers are increasingly being offered NFT tokens with superpowers or weapons embedded with the virus, and tools for secret cryptocurrency mining are being embedded in mobile applications.

ESET estimates that Russia accounted for 11.2% of those affected by cryptocurrency threats in 2021, the country remained the leader in this indicator.