Crypto mining december 2017
In February , several Russian nuclear scientists were arrested for allegedly mining cryptocurrencies using computing resources located at a Russian nuclear warhead facility. Threat actors are also surfing this wave by using different kind of attacks to compromise not only personal computer but also servers. The more infected machines they can get mining for them, the more money they can make. Over the last few months we have begun to see a switch away from traditional ransomware, most probably because fewer and fewer victims are paying the ransom.
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Cryptojacking is trending. But for how long?
In December , 88 percent of all remote code execution RCE attacks sent a request to an external source to try to download a crypto-mining malware. These attacks try to exploit vulnerabilities in the web application source code, mainly remote code execution vulnerabilities, in order to download and run different crypto-mining malware on the infected server. RCE vulnerabilities are one of the most dangerous of its kind as attackers may execute malicious code in the vulnerable server.
Have you ever wondered what kind of malicious code attackers want to execute? The answer in most cases is — any code that earns the attackers a lot of money with little effort and as quickly as possible.
During a recent research project, we saw an extremely large spike of RCE attacks. A remote code execution vulnerability allows attackers to run arbitrary code on the vulnerable server. For example, in a previous post we discussed RCE vulnerabilities related to insecure deserialization. In these types of vulnerabilities attackers can tamper with serialized objects that are sent to the web application. Then, after the object is deserialized, malicious code will run in the vulnerable server. In our current research we focused on RCE attacks where the payload included an attempt to send a request to an external location.
The method of sending such requests differs depending on the operating system and the desired result. For example, attackers targeting Windows servers, used a Powershell command to download a file from an external location figure 1. Attackers targeting Linux servers, used Bash scripts, and wget or curl commands for the same purpose. Figure 1- Powershell command to download malicious script on a vulnerable Windows server.
In the past, RCE payloads that sent requests to an external location included mostly attempts to infect servers with malware that added the vulnerable servers to a DDoS botnet. This kind of attack is mostly profit based since the attackers can provide DDoS for hire services. In recent months, there has been a sharp increase in attempts to infect vulnerable servers with crypto-mining malware see figure 2. This kind of malware allows attackers to use the CPU or sometimes GPU power of the vulnerable server to mine crypto currencies.
In this kind of attack, the attackers eliminate the need to sell their product to a third party and thus achieve a faster return on investment. According to our research, in December almost 90 percent of all the malicious payloads in RCE attacks that sent a request to an external location were crypto-mining malware. Crypto mining uses computation power to solve difficult mathematical puzzles called proof of work functions.
Each time such a problem is solved, the miner who solved it gets a fixed amount of coins, depending on which coin she or he was mining. For example, currently, bitcoin miners get But solving this puzzle alone is not an easy task, and a lot of computing power is needed.
Hence, miners use mining pools to increase their chances of getting paid. Mining pools are platforms that allow miners to work together and share computation resources to solve the puzzle. Once it is solved, the coins are divided between the participants of the pool according to how much computation power they each contributed. To own and exchange crypto currency you need a crypto wallet.
They store cryptographic keys which allow the user access to their currencies. Each wallet has an address which can be used to sign the wallet into a mining pool and send the profit of the mining process to the wallet. Another important aspect of crypto mining is the required hardware. Bitcoin is likely the most popular crypto currency and mining it is practically impossible using only regular CPU. To mine Bitcoin a specific hardware is required or requires the use of GPU which allows more parallelization of the computation, thus improving the mining process.
Other crypto currencies, like Monero, are newer and can be mined using regular CPU. In recent attacks we have seen a lot of malware using it to mine Monero. Bitcoin is the arguably the most popular crypto currency that exists, but still we have not seen a single attack trying to infect servers with Bitcoin mining malware. Besides the fact that special hardware is required to mine Bitcoin while regular CPU can be used to mine the crypto currencies mentioned above, there is another notable reason.
Bitcoin transactions are not private and coins can be traced back along the transaction chain. All the cryptocurrencies that we saw attackers trying to mine are more anonymous. This makes these anonymous crypto currencies a favorite for hackers to mine illegally on vulnerable servers. Monero is also used as a way to launder money made illegally.
For example there were reports that Bitcoins earned by the WannaCry ransomware were moved to Monero, probably as a means of hiding the source of the money.
Next, we will follow an attack found in the wild, and through it try to understand the way that a crypto-mining malware works. The following attack figure 3 was found in the post body of an HTTP request that was trying to exploit an RCE vulnerability to send a wget command to download and run a script.
Figure 3- Code injected in a parameter trying to download and run a crypto-mining script. First, it kills processes that are running in the background of the server figure 4. These processes include mostly competing crypto miners, but also security controls and processes that use a lot of CPU.
The way this script identifies competing crypto miners is either by killing the processes with known crypto-mining software, or by killing processes that include specific IPs or parts of crypto wallets. Figure 4- The script kills processes that are running in the background. Figure 5- Gaining persistence by adding a new cron job. Figure 6- Downloading and running the crypto-mining malware.
Figure 7- Dynamic configuration file containing the mining pool and the crypto wallet of the attacker. In the downloaded configuration files we found, there were active Monero wallets that belonged to the attackers. By tracing the wallets and the mining pools, we saw the amount of money made using crypto mining. Figure The wallet was suspended from the pool due to botnet activity.
Most of the RCE payloads in our data contained crypto miners for Monero. But there were some attacks in which the payload was a crypto miner for other currencies. One such currency is Electroneum, a relatively new crypto currency published in September This is a UK-based crypto currency designed specifically for mobile users. Figure 11 shows one of the Electroneum mining pools found in the payload which attackers tried to run. Figure Electroneum mining pool stats. Figure Electroneum balance of an attacker.
Figure Karbowanec wallet found in one of the attacks. Last December almost 90 percent of all the RCE attacks that sent a request to an external source included a crypto-mining malware. Attackers can make a lot of money off your server resources with crypto mining and there are many different crypto currencies to mine.
The anonymity of transactions and the easy use of regular CPU make this attack very popular among hackers who want to earn money, and fast.
A crypto-mining malware causes denial of service to the infected server. With most of the server computation power directed to crypto mining, the server is rendered unavailable.
Also, getting rid of the malware is not so easy due to its persistence as it adds a scheduled task to download and run it again after a certain period of time.
To protect web applications from crypto-mining malware, the initial attack must be blocked. Organizations using affected servers are advised to use the latest vendor patch to mitigate these kind of vulnerabilities. An alternative to manual patching is virtual patching. Virtual patching actively protects web applications from attacks, reducing the window of exposure and decreasing the cost of emergency patches and fix cycles.
Learn more about how to protect your web applications from vulnerabilities with Imperva WAF solutions. Application Security Research Labs. Nadav Avital , Gilad Yehudai. RCE vulnerabilities and payload families A remote code execution vulnerability allows attackers to run arbitrary code on the vulnerable server. Figure 9- Amount of Monero mined each day. Try Imperva for Free Protect your business for 30 days on Imperva. Start Now. Research Labs. Kunal Anand. Kunal Anand , Nadav Avital.
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Cryptocurrencies - a wild west industry?
Bitcoin is a 'cryptocurrency' — a decentralised tradeable digital asset. Invented in , you store your bitcoins in a digital wallet, and transactions are stored in a public ledger known as the bitcoin blockchain, which prevents the digital currency being double-spent. Cryptocurrencies can be used to send transactions between two parties via the use of private and public keys. These transfers can be done with minimal processing cost, allowing users to avoid the fees charged by traditional financial institutions - as well as the oversight and regulation that entails. The lack of any central authority oversight is one of the attractions.
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The Texas State Securities Board this week finished its second regulatory crackdown on cryptocurrency offerings with two emergency actions against businesses claiming they have the expertise and financial strength to deliver high-yielding, no-risk returns. Securities Commissioner Travis J. The sweep started in mid-June in response to the price of Bitcoin nearly tripling in the prior three months. Since December , Commissioner Iles has entered 26 administrative orders against 79 individuals and entities involved in cryptocurrency offerings. Several actions resulted in the offer of rescission to Texas investors. In fiscal year , which ended Aug. The two emergency cease and desist orders entered Oct. Among them:. The company also claims the securities it issues trade on an over the counter market under the symbol GBTC. DealStream facilitates the buying and selling of businesses, real estate, oil and gas assets, and private investments.
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Highlights of the Bill. Key Issues and Analysis. Cryptocurrency emerged as a person-to-person electronic cash system that allows online payments to be sent directly from one party to another, without the need of a financial institution. This makes the issued currency a legal tender.
Bitcoin's Price History
We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. To learn more or opt-out, read our Cookie Policy. Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin are constantly in the news, as is the blockchain technology behind them. Is Bitcoin, and other cryptocurrencies, the future or will this experiment gradually fade away like a historical footnote? Are cryptocurrencies actually decentralized or are they controlled by small groups of people? Are they fraud-proof or can they be manipulated by insiders?
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Around December , bitcoin was the headline on every website and expectations were sky high. The actual trajectory was a steep slope downward through most of There was a lot of concern that rising prices and growing electricity demand from digital currency mining would create serious problems for utilities and system operators as the market grew. I wrote back in July that the scale of the problem was overblown. What actually happened as the value of digital currencies fell? DCM miners commit computing power in a race to be the first to solve a difficult guess-and-check problem. The successful miner earns the right to publish a block of transactions to the bitcoin blockchain and receives A new block becomes available every 10 minutes.
By Josh Grunzweig. Category: Unit As time progressed, I began asking myself it this was a coincidence, or part of a much larger trend.
In the United States, cryptocurrencies have been the focus of much attention by both Federal and state governments. While there has been significant engagement by these agencies, little formal rulemaking has occurred. Many Federal agencies and policymakers have praised the technology as being an important part of the U. There have generally been two approaches to regulation at the state level. These states hope to leverage investment in the technology to stimulate local economies and improve public services.
Mining explained. Our approach to mining. A world-class portfolio. COVID update. Take a tour of a modern mine. Q4 Production Report.
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Not always, sometimes even earlier =)