In recent times, I believe the worst that can happen to anyone who trades, invests in cryptocurrency is Cryptojacking. I have written some articles about blockchain and smart contract, read more for better understanding on this topic.
What is Cryptojacking?
Let me break it down, the word cryptojacking was coined from two words Cryptocurrency and Hijacking. According to oxford dictionary cryptocurrency, popularly known as crypto is a digital currency in which transactions are verified and records maintained by a decentralized system using cryptography, rather than by a centralized authority. While Hijacking means an act of unlawfully seizing an aircraft, vehicle, or ship while in transit.
cryptojacking is the gain of access to someone’s cryptocurrency asset in order to steal them or use the wallet to mine cryptocurrency coins without the owner’s knowledge.
Most cryptocurrency applications and providers boast of secured wallets because of the 2FA, 12 special word code that is unique to all individual wallet holders but unfortunately, a lot of wallet holders still fall victim to cryptojacking. It is so unfortunate that with just a few lines of code, a crypto-jacker can successfully cart away billions worth of cryptocurrency or mine billions worth of cryptocurrency undetected, such stolen currency are then moved to their own wallets. Crypto-jackers use personal and business computers of unsuspecting victims to carry out such acts.
How does it happen?
It is usually done with the installation of malware on an unsuspecting victim’s asset. Cryptojacking is a serious global problem, with cybercriminals gaining unauthorized access to computer systems to make money with little to no effort and risk. Cryptojacking is rising especially in recent times due to the cryptocurrency boom, cybercriminals are always coming up with new strategies on how to gain access to computing resources and mine cryptocurrencies.
The latest method of operation is to embed malware on online assets such as pictures, documents, videos etc where victims can easily click and download the malware unaware.
The malware is easy to install and very hard to detect. A cryptomining code typically runs transparently and can remain undetected for a long period of time, once an asset is infected. Even if detected, it is very difficult to trace it back to the hacker. By this time, such criminals would have successfully collected and moved their illegal cryptocurrency earnings, leaving a chain of negative occurrences in their wake, which includes business crashing, negative impact on the IT team of the company, not forgetting the emotion and heartfelt loss, including slow running network and the financial impact of having to troubleshoot all devices.
How does this malware spread?
This cryptojacking mining malware spreads in 3 ways cryptojackers use to maliciously mine for cryptocurrencies:
- Downloading malware to execute crypto mining scripts.
- Hijacking IT infrastructure.
- Accessing cloud services.
3 ways to Prevent Cryptojacking: Tips and Tactics
Yes, it’s difficult to detect when your computer system has been attacked by cryptojacking, here are some preventive measures you can take to protect your crypto assets and computers:
- Train Your Team:
Your team ( IT and non-IT staff) should be trained to understand and detect cryptojacking. They should be well aware of the first signs of an attack and take immediate steps to investigate further or notify the right quarters.
- Use Anti-Crypto Mining Extensions
The use anti-crypto mining browser extensions can be employed to block crypto miners across the web such as minerBlock and No Coin.
- Use Ad-Blockers
Web ads are common places for cryptojacking scripts to be embedded. Using an ad-blocker can both detect and block malicious cryptomining code.
Use guidelines in this article to increase your knowledge of cryptojacking, what it means and how it affects both you and your business. I trust these practical explanation has helped with a good insight into the world of cryptojacking
Leave a Reply