More cryptocurrency mining malware continues to target major corporations, hijacking victims to mine altcoin Monero (XMR), new research warned on Feb. 5. Findings from the Special Ops team at United States cybersecurity company JASK reveal a modified version of trojan Shellbot has become increasingly prevalent since its debut in November last year. The perpetrators, the company says, appear to be a Romanian hacker group known as Outlaw, a translation of the Romanian word “haiduc,” which also lends its name to one of the payloads the malware installs. “The toolkit observed [...] in use by the attacker contains three primary components: …

A new cryptojacking malware has the ability to disable cloud-based security measures to avoid detection on Linux servers, research by information security company Palo Alto Networks Jan. 17 reveals. The malware in question mines Monero (XMR) and is reportedly a modified version of one used by the so-called “Rocke” group, originally discovered by cybersecurity firm Talos in August last year. According to the research, one of the first things that the malware does is check for other cryptocurrency mining processes and add firewall rules to block any other cryptojacking malware. The virus reportedly also searches for cloud security services by …

Cryptojacking malware activity rose by over 4000 percent in 2018, according to a new quarterly report published by cyber security firm McAfee Labs, Dec. 18. Cryptojacking is the practice of using a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. The McAfee statistic of over 4000 percent specifically refers to total instances of a cryptojacking malware, referred to in the study as “coin miner.” The report extends to a range of new crypto mining malware threat vectors, which notably include a spike in new malware targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices: “New [mining] malware targeting …

The number of MikroTik routers affected by cryptojacking malware has repotedly doubled since summer 2018, reaching 415,000, security researcher VriesHd tweeted Sunday, Dec. 2. Since August, VriesHd has been reporting on crypto malware that targets routers and forces them to mine cryptocurrencies along with the researchers from Bad Packets Report. They revealed that routers by Mikrotik, a Latvian manufacturer of network equipment, were compromised by at least 16 different types of malware including Coinhive, a cryptojacking software mining privacy-oriented cryptocurrency Monero (XMR). By September the estimated number of compromised routers surpassed 280,000, according to Bad Packets. In the recent tweet …

Cyber security firm Check Point Research has found that the KingMiner cryptojacker targeting cryptocurrency Monero (XMR) is “evolving,” according to a company’s blog post published Nov. 30. KingMiner was purportedly firstly detected in mid-June, subsequently evolving in two improved versions. The malware attacks Windows Servers by deploying various evasion methods to skirt its detection. Per Check Point data, several detection engines have registered significantly decreased detection rates, while sensor logs have shown a growing number of KingMiner attacks. The firm has been monitoring KingMiner activity over the past six months and concluded that the malware has evolved in two new …

A new bulletin from Russian internet security company Kaspersky Labs published Nov. 28 states that crypto mining malware became increasingly popular among botnets in 2018. Stealth crypto mining attacks – also know as cryptojacking – work by installing malware that uses a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. According to Kaspersky, after the crypto market bull run subsided in Jan.-Feb. 2018, interest in cryptojacking also briefly tapered off – yet it has nonetheless remained a consistent and current threat throughout the year. Number of unique users attacked by miners in Q1–Q3 2018 Among …

Internet security provider and research lab McAfee Labs has uncovered new malware which secretly uses consumer devices to mine Monero (XMR), a blog post confirmed Nov. 12. Dubbed “WebCobra” and originating from Russia, the latest threat downloads one of two mining clients and uses the processor power of an infected device to generate coins for the perpetrators. Displaying the more “classic” behavior of so-called “cryptojacker” malware, WebCobra runs almost without a trace, McAfee Labs says, the only noticeable difference for the end user being reduced hardware performance. “Coin mining malware is difficult to detect. Once a machine is compromised, a …

Official government websites have become a prime target for cryptojacking in India, The Economic Times (ET) reports today, September 17. Cryptojacking is the practice of infecting a target with malware that uses a computer’s processing power to mine for cryptocurrencies without the owner’s consent or knowledge. New research from cybersecurity analysts reportedly reveals that widely trusted government websites – including those of the director of the municipal administration of Andhra Pradesh, Tirupati Municipal Corporation and Macherla municipality – have become the latest to be exploited by the practice. Security Researcher Indrajeet Bhuyan told ET that: “Hackers target government websites for …

This interview has been edited and condensed. Michael Terpin is an American blockchain and crypto investor who has worked with over 100 projects running Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) since entering the blockchain space in early 2013. Terpin co-founded BitAngels in 2013 and, more recently, founded blockchain PR firm Transform Group. The investor and entrepreneur recently hit mainstream and crypto media headlines following his high profile case against U.S. telecom giant AT&T. Terpin is suing AT&T for negligence that allegedly resulted in the theft of over $24 million of Terpin’s crypto holdings. Cointelegraph sat down with Terpin at BlockShow Americas in …

As much as 59 percent of U.K. companies have been affected by cryptojacking malware at some point. Roughly half of those cases took place in the previous month, news outlet Internet of Business reports August 15, citing a research commissioned by Citrix. According to Internet of Business, the research, commissioned by software company Citrix and performed by OnePoll, asked 750 IT executives from U.K. companies that number more than 250 employees about their experience with cryptojacking attacks. Cryptojacking malware employs its victim’s computational resources without their permission in order to mine cryptocurrencies for the attacker. This leads to a wasteful …

Iran-based malware that demands a digital ransom in cryptocurrencies is on the rise and will further escalate in the present geopolitical climate, according to a report published by global management consulting firm Accenture on August 7. After two years of analysis, Accenture Security iDefense predicts that emerging trends in the Iranian cyber threat landscape will intensify as the country is forced into a defensive and economically straitened position in the wake of the U.S. exit from the Obama-era Iran nuclear accord this spring. With the US set to imminently to reimpose tough economic sanctions, Accenture has warned that the ransomware …