Preventing Cryptojacking: Handling the Powerful Threat

Capital Markets CIO Outlook | Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Ransomware attacks were at a peak in 2016. At the end of 2017, another threat occurred due to illegal cryptocurrency. The hackers initially began to develop malware to hack the resources in a victim’s computer. The hackers decided to focus on producing multiple malware with the help of technical improvements. For example, when the unwary user clicks the malware attached along with his mail, his system is under a ransomware attack.

Generally, crypto mining occurs by mining bitcoins and other cryptocurrency coins. Though there are legitimate ways to produce cryptocurrency just by solving a math problem, hackers choose the malevolent path to mine zillions of bitcoins. The illicit activities of mining cryptocurrencies lead to crypto jacking. It allows hackers to mine bitcoins with computer resources letting them to hack the computers of individuals. According to Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, one bitcoin transaction uses as much energy as 100,000 visa transactions.

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In September 2017, Malwarebytes, a security firm, tracked uptick in the increase of crypto jacking crimes. Hackers do not need to hack the mobiles of individuals. Instead, hacking a particular website gives them access to multiple mobile devices at a time. Recently, due to a third party flaw, a crypto jacking campaign has impacted around 5000 sites including the UK and the U.S. government pages.

The presence of malware can be detected by using up-to-date antivirus and malware detection tools. Using those tools is required to combat system weakness after the malware has sprung out. The response to clicks can be slower when the malware runs as a background in the system. HiddenMiner, one of the worse cases of Cryptojacking, affects Android phones to perform operations that result in overheating and catching fire.

The extensions on each page can close malware for cryptocurrency mining on board. Google recently stopped listing the extensions that cryptocurrencies mine as 90 percent of that software infringed its policies. Although many preventive measures have been taken against illicit cryptocurrency mining, no operating system is immune to crypto jacking campaign. Organizations have to continue to innovate and upgrade existing systems to prevent such threats in the future.