Cryptojacking Phenomenon Still a Serious Threat

Last year’s cryptojacking phenomenon is still a serious threat, as consumer crypto-miners soared 4000% in just the first three months of 2018. There was a total consumer detections of around 16 million by March, with businesses seeing more modest infections.

Malwarebytes’ Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques report for the first three months of 2018 reveals that while cryptojacking among Android consumers is soaring, ransomware detections dropped by 35% compared to the previous quarter.

Ransomware attacks have been quite popular in the crypto field and are characterized by the spread of malicious software which is known to completely block out the user’s access to valuable information. Last month we saw hackers hitting Atlanta’s local government, demanding $51,000 in Bitcoin to lift the block-out.

Crypto-mining, otherwise known as ‘cryptojacking’, on the other hand, takes place when an unauthorized third party uses the capabilities of a computer or other internet-connected device for the purpose of mining cryptocurrency. And while in its essence, this form of intrusion might not be as harmful, infections could lead to very challenging repercussions. Among them, the most dangerous being system hijacking and information theft.

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It's #cryptojacking malware.

IoCs
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Example site: https://t.co/H7ub8xCV6e pic.twitter.com/IRvwCZSwqC

— Bad Packets Report (@bad_packets) April 1, 2018

One would think that the massive 4000% increase in consumer crypto-mining would top off the cybercrime charts, but the truth is that adware remains the number one threat to consumers. Businesses, on the other hand, are more often the victims of spyware.

Phishing emails, prefaced to come from secured emails linking to ‘legitimate’ patches while, in reality, leading to malware, remain an underwater stone to look out for.

A fairly new trend unveils itself in the face of Coinbase-themed tech support scans. Through the usage of fake Twitter accounts as well as blackhat Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques, scammers lure victims into providing them with wallet credentials and other private information.