Gone are the days when computer hacker’s primary purpose was just to get a hold of your information or ransom you for money. Now they have gone even a step further, and have started hacking computers to do what? Mine cryptocurrency!
Yes, hackers have opted to earn money unnoticeably by using your very own processing power to earn some cash. This is possible since the hackers are mining the cryptocurrency called Monero by getting access through your computer.
To everyone who likes doctored videos, there is a forum for that, known by the name deepfakes.com. Beware of this forum since it has now come to our knowledge, that whoever visits this forum, their computer shall start mining Monero, but only if the website wasn’t closed. This is according to a report released by Malware Bytes which highlights the illegal mining of this cryptocurrency.
It is without a doubt against the law, but whoever came up with the idea of using other’s PC to earn some easy cash through mining is a genius. According to Stephan Simon, who happens to be the security researchers employed at Binary Defense Systems, “If they had enough traffic, that would absolutely generate a lot of profit.”
There is a simple explanation for this. The cryptocurrency sector has experienced a sudden boom with many currencies rising exponentially high. Public interest has been directed towards them and it is expected that it shall continue to do so. Also, there is some difficulty involved when you setup crypto mining software on every PC. Thus, by using automated way courtesy a script, hackers would be able to mine much of the cryptocurrency without much hassle. On top of this, the person wouldn’t be able to know even if their computer is being used for such purpose.
You should tread carefully on the web from now on, since it won’t just stop to deepfakes. The term “crypto jacking” has been coined in particular reference to such an incident. This isn’t the only incident though. There were reports from a Chinese cybersecurity firm which claims that hackers were able to mine Monero and other similar cryptocurrencies through some malware attacked Android phones and even Smart TVs. Previous to this, public Wi-Fis also came under the limelight once again when it was revealed that it was possible that people who connected to such could be a victim of crypto jacking.
In addition to this, it has been proven that physical processing capabilities of nearly everything which has a processor can be utilized to mine cryptocurrency even if limited. This is possible through Mirai like mega-botnets which exploit such hardware.
“When there was more or easier money to be had, there was motive” to build more botnets, Simon said. “Cryptocurrency has helped it accelerate.”
If a certain website could only mine Crypto while it is open doesn’t mean others can’t even when their tab has been closed. They could possibly install potential malware that could do the mining for them.
“If somebody’s being supergreedy, you can easily hear the fans kicking up in your machine,” Simon said.
There are browsers already which are able to block such scripts of auto-mining from executing themselves. Therefore, it is important that you update your browsers on a regular basis to avoid such mishaps.