Cryptojacking malware activity rose a staggering 629 percent in the first quarter of 2018, according to a published by cyber security firm McAfee Labs June 27.
is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge.
The McAfee Labs Threats Report for June detected over 2.9 million known samples of malware in Q1 2018 – a 629 percent rise from around 400,000 samples the previous quarter. As per the report:
“This suggests that cybercriminals are warming to the prospect of monetizing infections of user systems without prompting victims to make payments, as is the case with popular ransomware schemes. Compared with well-established cybercrime activities such as data theft and ransomware, cryptojacking is simpler, more straightforward, and less risky.”
As the report explains, by infecting “millions of systems,” criminals can surreptitiously monetize their attack using a mining malware that needs no middleman, requires minimal effort and runs the “least risk of discovery.” As malware develops, attackers are showing “remarkable level[s] of technical agility and innovation.”
According to an earlier McAfee , coin miner works by using code – a program created to mine (XMR) via a web browser, and marketed to website owners as an alternative form of monetization, instead of online advertising. A report earlier this month that around 5 percent of all XMR in circulation has been mined maliciously through cryptojacking, a figure that was noted to likely be “too low.”
Also this month, a cybersecurity team that 40,000 devices across various industries – including finance, education, and government – had been infected by an XMR miner as part of a hybrid malicious traffic manipulation and crypto mining campaign. In Japan, police recently 16 individuals suspected of involvement in an ongoing criminal case of cryptojacking.
Published at Fri, 29 Jun 2018 11:15:00 +0000
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