Menu

Search

  |   Digital Currency

Menu

  |   Digital Currency

Search

Cryptocurrency Mining Malware Still Prevalent Despite Exploiting Basic Vulnerabilities

Mining malware sits atop the cyber threat pyramid regarding cryptocurrencies and consumers and businesses alike aren’t doing so well protecting themselves from such risks. Coinhive and Cryptoloot are two of the biggest mining malware that affects a multitude of systems globally, according to cybersecurity firm Check Point.

Coinhive is a Javascript malware created to mine the Monero (XMR) cryptocurrency, while Cryptoloot is relatively new in the scene but has already reached the second place as the most prominent mining malware to date. Both these mining software are designed to penetrate through an IT system by exploiting their basic vulnerabilities.

What worries experts is that while businesses and consumers are familiar with how these malwares operate, they are still unable or complacent about placing protection around their platforms. This is because cryptojacking doesn’t pose that much of a risk as opposed to, say, a spyware or a ransomware.

Experts warn about this complacency saying that these low-risk malware cryptojackings create a sort of a static noise that major attacks could hide behind. So when cybercriminals do launch an organized offensive against a certain system, companies and consumers may react too late to mitigate the damages caused.

But this isn’t to say that the collective sphere of the businesses across the globe is complacent. Rather, it may be that they’re still grappling with how to put up countermeasures against mining malware.

Numbers indicate that they’re doing a more decent job in this regard since data indicate that mining malware has declined by 55 percent in December and is at 42 percent in February. However, the decline will not go down steadily since experts observed a pattern that cryptojacking activities takes a spike whenever the value of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Monero, and Ethereum increases.

On a more serious side of cyber-attacks, a privacy-centered crypto company has been the latest victim of such incident. The attack lasted for four hours with the hackers hauling away an estimated $1.7 million by the end of it.

  • Market Data
Close

Welcome to EconoTimes

Sign up for daily updates for the most important
stories unfolding in the global economy.