How does crypto mining malware work
A new report published by security researched Troy Mursch details how the cryptocurrency mining code known as Coinhive is creeping onto unsuspecting sites around the web. Mursch recently detected the Coinhive code running on nearly websites, including ones belonging to the San Diego Zoo, Lenovo and another for the National Labor Relations Board. The full list is available here. Most of the affected sites are hosted by Amazon and are located in the United States and Mursch believes that they were compromised through an outdated version of Drupal:. Soon thereafter, I was notified of additional compromised sites using a different payload.
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Content:
- Cryptomining, Malware, and What to Expect in 2018
- Coin-Mining Malware Volumes Soar 53% in Q4 2020
- Crypto-Miners: What Are They and What Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself
- The implications of Cryptocurrency-Mining Malware
- Protection against the Coinminer malware
- How to Detect and Stop Cryptomining on Your Network
- Drupal Malware: How to Fix Drupal Kitty Cryptomining Malware
- National Lab Creates Technology to Detect Cryptocurrency Mining Malware
- New Report Reveals Top 10 Cryptomining Malware for 2018
Cryptomining, Malware, and What to Expect in 2018
If was the year of the ransomware attack, then , insofar as it can be defined by malware, was the year of cryptojacking. In early , the cryptocurrency market hit unprecedented levels, leading to a boom in cryptocurrency mining, both legal and illicit.
And now, while the dizzying highs of cryptocurrency prices and the bitcoin bubble is it fair to call it a bubble now? Cryptojacking works by—you guessed it—hijacking other people's processing power and using it to mine cryptocurrencies.
This is typically achieved with scripts that run behind the scenes on websites, though it's also possible to hijack machines and servers to run full-blown cryptocurrency mining software, which is either installed by malware or by rogue employees.
As Peter from Spiceworks put it , "Cryptojacking is a bit like someone else taking out your car and earning money with it on Uber without you knowing, collecting the profits behind your back, and hoping you don't notice.
Or, to put it another way, imagine a stranger is using your house when you're off at work, using the water, the electricity, the heat— it's a bit like that.
For hackers, the benefit is obvious: they can mine cryptocurrencies without paying the astronomical electric bills that generally come with such activity. Now, I know what you're thinking: cryptomining on a CPU is incredibly wasteful. It's harmful to your hardware and just flat-out inefficient in terms of energy used vs.
So unless you have a powerful GPU, you should be safe from cryptojacking, right? Not quite. For cryptojackers, those downsides are moot points. Think about it—if you've got thousands of users running your script to hijack their computing power and electricity to do the job, cryptojacking is essentially free money, and that's very tempting for the morally bankrupt.
Not to mention that Monero mining is much less resource-intensive than traditional Bitcoin mining. But beyond being the newest cybersecurity buzzword, is cryptojacking really a threat?
Short answer: Yes. Recent reports have shown exactly how profitable cryptomining can be. That's a hefty profit, and it creates strong incentive for others to follow. And it seems that many have And news reports are backing these claims up. In fact, in their recent State of Malware report, researchers at. Headlines back this claim up. In recent months, cryptojacking has been all over the news, from run-of-the-mill browser scripts to industrial SCADA control systems infected with crypto mining software.
In one extraordinary case, a Russian scientist was arrested for cryptomining on a super computer at a nuclear lab. And the cryptojacking epidemic doesn't just cost victims resources, it can actually destroy their equipment. One type of Android malware, called Loapi, mines cryptocurrency so intensely that it can actually cause physical harm to the device that it runs on.
With all this in mind, I'd say it's safe to say that the cryptojacking threat is real, and it's not going anywhere. So, how do you secure your network from cryptojackers who want to burn your resources—whether they're hackers running in-browser mining scripts, or rogue employees looking to take advantage of powerful computing systems?
This is a fundamental first step to protecting yourself from thousands of attack vectors—and something you should be doing anyway—but it's worth repeating: always keep your machines patched and up-to-date.
Staying up to date on your patches and security updates is an easy way to keep trojans carrying cryptominers off of your network. When it comes to cryptojacking, every day is Patch Tuesday. Out-of-date applications and operating systems are a favorite attack vector for bad guys, and they're one that you can easily close, so just do it.
Case in point: Smominru, the k strong cryptomining botnet mentioned above, uses long-patched vulnerabilities such as the EternalBlue exploit and EsteemAudit to take over Windows machines.
By patching your machines and removing those attack vectors, you decrease the chance for cryptominers to get access to your resources. While patching is a critical step, even a fully patched system can be vulnerable if a user visits the wrong site, or installs the wrong app, and that's why it's important to take a multifaceted approach to blocking cryptojackers—especially those that run in-browser.
The most straightforward solution to this problem would be to block JavaScript from running in browsers on your network, but that would make for a pretty miserable internet experience. I can only imagine the number of tickets and user complaints. So, in most cases, it's probably better to take a more nuanced approach. This can be done by blacklisting domains, or by using software or plugins to do it for you.
These solutions should also be capable of detecting and blocking exploits like EternalBlue, which can get you in a whole lot more trouble than simple cryptojacking. If you don't already have a security system like this in place, we strongly advice that you get one. Or you could use an ad blocker like uBlock Origin my personal choice. Alternatively, you can create a blacklist of your own, though it can be difficult to keep up-to-date. While the methods outlined above will certainly keep you better protected than doing nothing, the truth is that there's no silver bullet for keeping cryptominers off of your network.
There is, however, one sure thing. You can monitor for, and identify misbehaving machines, and then address the issue from there. Regardless of the method used, mining cryptocurrency is going to be a major resource hog, which should make the machines doing it stand out.
This is especially true in off-business hours when most machines will be less active, but those with cryptominers installed will continue using resources at a high rate. This is a simple way to keep track of your machines and find out if there's anything strange going on.
In WhatsUp Gold, monitoring for CPU spikes is a preset configuration, and blackout policies can be used to limit monitoring to off-business hours if so desired. Likewise, setting up alerts for spikes in CPU usage is easy to configure. You can try it yourself with a free trial, available here. At any rate, it doesn't look like the crypto-mining frenzy is coming to an end anytime soon, so stay protected with the tips above, and keep current with your patches and blacklists.
If you have any other techniques for keeping cryptominers off of your networks, please feel free to share them in the comments.
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Coin-Mining Malware Volumes Soar 53% in Q4 2020
And in those pieces of content, the topic of cryptocurrency mining often comes up. In a nutshell, cryptocurrency mining is a term that refers to the process of gathering cryptocurrency as a reward for work that you complete. This is known as Bitcoin mining when talking about mining Bitcoins specifically. But why do people crypto mine? But whatever the reason, cryptocurrencies are a growing area of interest for technophiles, investors, and cybercriminals alike.
Crypto-Miners: What Are They and What Steps You Can Take to Protect Yourself
The world is now focused on ransomware, perhaps more so than any previous cybersecurity threat in history. But if the viability of ransomware as a criminal business model should decline, expect attackers to quickly embrace something else - but what? We've been here before. In late , driven by a surge in bitcoin's value, many criminals shifted from using ransomware, which at the time was typically spread via drive-by downloads and spam attacks, to using the same tactics to instead spread cryptocurrency-mining malware. Attackers don't seem to prioritize any given approach over another. Or at least if there was a cult devoted to the first type of ransomware ever seen in the wild - the AIDS Trojan, which in began spreading via floppy disk - any lingering adherents would be in dire need of a day job. For criminals, different types of malware - banking Trojans, ransomware, spyware, rootkits - are simply tools. So too are business email compromise scams, phishing and other types of online-enabled crime.
The implications of Cryptocurrency-Mining Malware
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Protection against the Coinminer malware
Mondaq uses cookies on this website. By using our website you agree to our use of cookies as set out in our Privacy Policy. With the growth of various forms of cryptocurrencies and their increasing value, cybercriminals are fast moving their focus from ransomware to cryptojacking due to the reduced risk and larger possibility for financial gain. Cryptojacking, which is less difficult and less detectable than ransomware assaults, allows attackers to mine for cryptocurrencies using compromised computing devices and networks. Cryptojacking, also known as cryptomining, is a new online threat that focuses on cryptocurrency on computers, mobile devices, and data networks. This approach mines all kinds of online currency using a machine's own resources, takes over web browsers, targets small cryptocurrency farms, and compromises a variety of devices.
How to Detect and Stop Cryptomining on Your Network
With the establishment of cryptocurrency, the era of a new means of payment has been ushered Crypto Mining in. We started with Bitcoin, which was first described in by the Japanese Satoshi Nakamoto in the Bitcoin white paper. His idea: The establishment of a digital currency. This should be organized decentrally, i. The maximum number of Bitcoins should be limited to a total of 21 million, in order to exclude inflation from the outset. Unlike central banks, however, Bitcoin units are not printed like banknotes, for example, but can only be generated digitally by computing power.
Drupal Malware: How to Fix Drupal Kitty Cryptomining Malware
Like the stock market, gold, real estate, and other assets, bitcoin prices have surged upward since bottoming out shortly after the COVID outbreak last year. This is great news for those who invested in Bitcoin at the outset of For IT managers and cybersecurity professionals, however, not so much.
National Lab Creates Technology to Detect Cryptocurrency Mining Malware
The Australian government has just recognized digital currency as a legal payment method. Since July 1, purchases done using digital currencies such as bitcoin are exempt from the country's Goods and Services Tax to avoid double taxation. As such, traders and investors will not be levied taxes for buying and selling them through legal exchange platforms. Japan, which legitimized bitcoin as a form of payment last April, already expects more than 20, merchants to accept bitcoin payments.
New Report Reveals Top 10 Cryptomining Malware for 2018
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If was the year of the ransomware attack, then , insofar as it can be defined by malware, was the year of cryptojacking. In early , the cryptocurrency market hit unprecedented levels, leading to a boom in cryptocurrency mining, both legal and illicit. And now, while the dizzying highs of cryptocurrency prices and the bitcoin bubble is it fair to call it a bubble now?
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