The rapid rise in cryptocurrency mining which could possibly give room for fraud money laundering and tensions in the market, as this surge is becoming a source of worry to experts.
This, according to experts will trigger system intruders that will hijack confidential data from computers and systems in a bid to mine virtual coin.
Miners are those code crunchers who control systems designed to process the blockchain transactions that slowly build up the credits with which to obtain cryptocurrency units such as Bitcoins.
Reports show that they are shifting their operations off computer CPUs (central processing units) to GPUs (graphics processing units) which is more powerful.
Why are Crypto-miners Threats?
Crypto-miners have the capacity to inject shortcodes or JavaScript on the web through different creative hacking techniques.
The goal for injecting this code through the web is to connect hijacked systems to a centralized mining. And this process allows immediate crypto-mining when a user visits the site, the script runs in the browser.
Before now, Kaspersky Lab predicted that miners could be among 2018’s most common cyber-threats.
In 2017, the firm’s security solutions stopped the launch of web miners on more than 70 million occasions, “and the use of such scripts is only set to rise,” the Russian security company.
Meanwhile, Check Point “2017 Global Cyber Attack Trends Report,” reveals that “one of the most significant trends of the last few months which took the world by storm is the incredibly rapid rise of crypto-currency miners, especially the Web-based type.”
“Over the past three months, crypto-mining malware has steadily become an increasing threat to organizations, as criminals have found it to be a lucrative revenue stream,” says Maya Horowitz, manager of Check Point’s Threat Intelligence Group.
“It is particularly challenging to protect against, as it is often hidden in websites, enabling hackers to use unsuspecting victims to tap into the huge CPU resource that many enterprises have available. As such, it is critical that organizations have the solutions in place that protect against these stealthy cyber-attacks.”
“There are both quasi-legitimate and legitimate uses of this technology to monetize customers,” says Joshua Motta founder and CEO of Coalition, billed as the first technology-enabled cyber-insurance solution.
“It is obviously problematic if you don’t disclose you are doing it and do it without their consent. You are stealing their CPU resources for your own gain.
There are Websites and publishers who are confirming it and getting consent to do so. I imagine there are people willing to do that, so it’s a fair trade.”
