Cryptojacking is a type of cybercrime that involves cybercriminals using people's devices without authorization to mine cryptocurrency. So what exactly is Cryptojacking and how do cryptojacking attacks work? If you do not know yet, let’s take a look at the article below.
What is Cryptojacking?
Cryptojacking is a type of cybercrime in which another party's computing resources are hijacked to mine cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking, also known as malicious cryptomining, allows hackers to mine cryptocurrencies without paying for electricity, hardware, and other mining resources.
Cryptojacking malware typically infects devices through standard phishing techniques. It can also embed itself in a website and then run in the victim's web browser when they visit the site. Cryptojackers target computers, laptops, phones, servers, and cloud infrastructure. They go after everyone from ordinary users to government agencies around the world.
Cryptojacking is the third most prevalent cybersecurity threat in 2021, according to the annual report of the European Union Cybersecurity Agency (ENISA). That same year, Google's Cybersecurity Action Group found that 86 percent of the infected cloud platforms it observed were the result of cryptojacking. In 2020, Cisco reported that 69% of its customers were affected by cryptomining malware.
How Do Cryptojacking Attacks Work?
Cybercriminals break into devices to install cryptojacking software. The software runs in the background, mining cryptocurrency or stealing from cryptocurrency wallets. Unsuspecting victims will usually use their devices, although they may notice slow performance or lag.
There are two main ways hackers can get a victim's device to secretly mine cryptocurrency:
1. By having victims click on a malicious link in an email that loads cryptomining code on the computer
2. Infect websites or online advertisements with JavaScript code that automatically executes after being loaded in the victim's browser
Hackers often use both methods to maximize their returns. In both cases, the code drops a cryptojacking script onto the device, which runs in the background while the victim works. Regardless of the method used, the script runs complex math problems on the victim's device and sends the results to a server controlled by the hacker.
Unlike other types of malware, cryptojacking scripts do not damage the computer or the victim's data. However, they do steal computer processing resources. For individual users, slower computer performance might just be an annoyance. But cryptojacking is a problem for businesses because there are real costs to organizations with many cryptojacking systems. E.g:
1. Help desk usage and IT time is spent tracking down performance issues and replacing components or systems in hopes of resolving them.
2. Electricity bills increase.
Cryptojacking can even infect Android mobile devices using the same method used for desktops. Some attacks occur via Trojan horse programs hidden in downloaded applications. Alternatively, the user's phone may be redirected to an infected site, leaving persistent pop-ups behind. While the processing power of individual phones is relatively limited, they provide enough collective power to justify the efforts of cryptojackers when attacks occur in large numbers
How to detect cryptojacking?
Cryptojacking is designed to be as undetectable as possible. However, these four main symptoms are cause for concern:
1. Poor performance is a common symptom of cryptojacking. Affected devices may run slower than usual or crash at unusual times as the additional workload stresses processing power.
2. Overheating is a common result. The fans in the infected device run faster than usual, or the battery may overheat if the cryptojacking script is taxing the processor of the infected device. Excessive heat can damage the device or shorten its life.
3. High electricity bills are also a sign of an attack. The energy and processing power required for mining consumes large amounts of electricity.
4. The central processing unit (CPU) uses spikes in response to cryptojacking. Victims using Windows can check their CPU usage in Activity Monitor or Task Manager when visiting sites running little or no media content. If users notice a strange spike, this could indicate a cryptojacking cyber attack. However, cryptojacking malware can be written to hide as legitimate processes and is difficult to detect this way.
I hope this article will help you to learn what is cryptojacking and how do cryptojacking attacks work. Cryptojacking seems like a harmless crime because the only thing "stolen" is the functionality of the victim's computer. However, the use of computing power for this criminal purpose is done without the knowledge or consent of the victim and for the benefit of the criminal who illegally creates money. Cybercriminals see this as a lucrative crime due to the large number of infected devices that generate large amounts of cryptocurrency.
