cryptojackingworld-blog

[cryptojackingworld-blog]

What is Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of a computer, tablet, mobile phone, or connected home device by cybercriminals to mine for cryptocurrency. Cryptojacking is an attack where the attacker runs cryptocurrency-mining software on your hardware without your permission. The attacker keeps the cryptocurrency and sells it for a profit, and you get stuck with high CPU usage and a hefty electricity bill.

While Bitcoin is the most widely known cryptocurrency, cryptojacking attacks usually involve mining other cryptocurrencies. Monero is particularly common, as it’s designed so people can mine it on average PCs. Monero also has anonymity features, which means it’s difficult to track where the attacker ultimately sends the Monero they mine on their victims’ hardware. Monero is an “altcoin,” which means a non-Bitcoin cryptocurrency...find out more at - Howtogeek.

Understanding Cryptojacking

Cryptojacking has become an increasingly popular way for bad actors to extract money from targets in the form of cryptocurrency. Widely publicized hacks such as the WannaCry worm, which affected systems on several continents in May 2017, encrypted victims' files and demanded cryptocurrency ransoms – bitcoin, in the case of WannaCry – to decrypt them.

Cryptojacking takes a different approach, harnessing victims' machines to "mine": perform the computations necessary to update cryptocurrencies' blockchains, creating new tokens and generating fees in the process. These new tokens and fees are deposited to wallets owned by the attacker, while the costs of mining – electricity and wear and tear to computers – are borne by the victim...get more to know at - Investopedia.

Why cryptojacking is popular

No one knows for certain how much cryptocurrency is mined through cryptojacking, but there’s no question that the practice is rampant. Browser-based cryptojacking grew fast at first, but seems to be tapering off, likely because of cryptocurrency volatility.

In November 2017, Adguard reported a 31 percent growth rate for in-browser cryptojacking. Its research found 33,000 websites running cryptomining scripts. Adguard estimated that those site had a billion combined monthly visitors.

In February 2018, Bad Packets Report found 34,474 sites running Coinhive, the most popular JavaScript miner that is also used for legitimate cryptomining activity. In July 2018, Check Point Software Technologies reported that four of the top ten malware it has found are crypto miners, including the top two: Coinhive and Cryptoloot.

However, Positive Technology's Cybersecurity Threatscape Q1 2019 report shows that cryptomining now accounts for only 7% of all attacks, down from 23% in early 2018. The report suggests that cybercriminals have shifted more to ransomware, which is seen as more profitable...read more at - Csoonline.

How cryptojacking works 

Coin mining on your own can be a long, costly endeavor. Elevated electricity bills and expensive computer equipment are major investments and key challenges to coin mining. The more devices you have working for you, the faster you can “mine” coins. Because of the time and resources that go into coin mining, cryptojacking is attractive to cybercriminals.

There are a few ways cryptojacking can occur. One of the more popular ways is to use malicious emails that can install cryptomining code on a computer. This is done through phishing tactics. The victim receives a seemingly harmless email with a link or an attachment. Upon clicking on the link or downloading the attachment, it runs a code that downloads the cryptomining script on the computer. The script then works in the background without the victim’s knowledge....visit -Norton to know more.

What crypto jacking shows is that someone doesn’t even need to own cryptocurrency to be a victim. Go to -https://duocircle.com/  to protect yourself against these kinds of crypto jacking attacks