cioreviewindia Team | Monday, 05 July 2021, 11:36 IST
Since the introduction of cryptocurrencies, there have been different parties that have shown interest in this new concept. Sadly, besides genuine traders and investors, there are also criminals who are interested in this new kid on the block. You may have heard about crypto mining, which is one of the ways through which new crypto assets are introduced into circulation. However, there is also a way to mine cryptocurrencies maliciously through crypto jacking. The attackers using this method will infect a device with malware so that they can mine secretly.
Crypto jacking is a process that makes use of the processing power and bandwidth of unsuspecting miners. The malware will hide the system for as long as possible while it is mining the digital assets. You may have heard that crypto mining is a process that requires a whole lot of processing power. Through crypto jacking, the attackers strive to break into various devices using malware. The intention is to go carry out low-cost and less-risky mining operations.
In the past, for attackers to access your device, you had to click on an email attachment or link and this would infect your system. The hidden miner would then connect to your resources and start crypto mining without being noticed. However, in recent years, crypto jacking has been taken to greater heights. Web-based crypto jacking is commonly being used by attackers for malicious crypto mining.
What is Web-based Crypto Jacking?
The most common form of crypto mining malware is known as drive-by crypto mining or web-based crypto mining. Ideally, there are malicious scripts that are hidden in websites and when a miner is browsing, the attacker will start mining cryptocurrencies. This is a process that happens in the background for as long as the user is on the website. The malware can be on any website including those with high authority. One of the common cryptocurrencies mined through this process is Monero, as it takes less processing power to mine.
Trading is one of the ways of earning cryptocurrencies and there are some reliable platforms like Bitcoin Billionaire, where you can trade securely. However, there are attackers who opt for crypto jacking, which simply means hijacking a crypto mining process. While the newer versions of crypto mining malware may not compromise the data in the CPU, it affects overall performance. Individuals may not notice the impact of a CPU that has been affected; however, this can hamper the operations of large organizations.
How to Detect and Stop Crypto Jacking
One of the indicators of a possible crypto jacking attack is where your CPU seems to be getting overwhelmed. When there is a sudden increase in the noise of the cooling fans, you should be cautious. Web-based crypto jacking is easy to detect and prevent as you can close the websites that are running. However, where malware targets your computer systems or networks, it may take quite some digging to discover it.
Cryptocurrency developers are working hard to keep such attacks away. There are several browser extensions that have been created to hinder crypto jacking activities. Besides the extensions, it is advisable to keep your system up to date and have an active anti-virus always running. There are so many phishing and crypto jacking techniques that are being used by criminals and as such, you should stay alert and be keen on any changes in the performance of your CPU.
Conclusion
Crypto jacking is a reality as everyone looks for ways of getting a little bit of the cryptocurrency cake. Whether you are a crypto trader, investor, or even miner, you should be vigilant and take all measures to inhibit crypto jacking on your system.
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