It wasn’t that long ago when the terms ‘Bitcoin’ and ‘Cryptocurrencies’ first started to trend on search engines and social media platforms. But it was the technology behind Bitcoin, and the potential in cryptojacking, which caught the eyes of innovators in the tech industry. Creating a blockchain and solving complex mathematical equations to mine a cryptocurrency caught the attention of hackers worldwide.
In recent months, we have seen a surge of ransomware attacks on businesses and critical infrastructure industries, in which the threat groups demanded payment for the business’s data in the form of cryptocurrencies. However, some businesses have been able to recover their data without needing to meet the demand of threat groups. Now in a new approach to gain cryptocurrencies, especially now since the market value for cryptos is very high, threat actors have started to use a method called cryptojacking.
Cryptojacking is when the hacker gains background access to a victim’s devices and uses that device to secretly mine for cryptocurrencies. The threat actors can gain access to a person’s device through malicious applications, emails or websites.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) has advised that in order to lower their risk from cryptojacking, people are urged to be careful with emails they receive that may contain unfamiliar links, while also checking application authenticity through the app store. The ACSC also advises not to download applications by unfamiliar developers. The ACSC strongly suggests installing anti-virus software, and to regularly scan your device’s system whether, it’s mobile or desktop. At this time there hasn’t been any serious impacts reported due to crypto-mining, but only time will tell whether the impact is greater than we feared.
For more information on how to stay up to date with the latest cyber protection and cybersecurity standards, contact us at Agilient, and mitigate future risks that might hinder your business operations.
Author: Saeed Baayoun, Agilient Consultant