Cryptojacking Malware Grew By 629 Says McAfee

According to cyber security company McAfee, cryptojacking malware grew by 629% from end of 2017 to first quarter of 2018. Thousands of websites worldwide, have fallen prey to a cryptojacking malware that forces their visitors’ computers to mine cryptocurrency without them knowing when browsing the site.

Hackers have extended their activity into the area of cryptojacking, the infection of user systems for the purpose of hijacking and using them to mine for cryptocurrencies, reported McAfee. Coin miner malware grew by 629% to more than 2.9 million known samples in Q1 2018 from almost 400,000 samples in Q4 2017.

As per the report,

“This suggests that cybercriminals are warming to the prospect of monetizing infections of user systems without prompting victims to make payments, as is the case with popular ransomware schemes. Compared with well-established cybercrime activities such as data theft and ransomware, cryptojacking is simpler, more straightforward, and less risky”

This shows that hackers are transitioning from ransomware to malware in the blockchain industry. CoinMiner or CoinMiner-FOZU uses victim’s computer to mine new coins by infecting user executables, injecting Coinhive JavaScript into HTML files, and blocking the domains of security products to stop signature updates.

Report further said that,

“The goal of the perpetrators is to monetize their criminal activity by expending the least amount of effort, using the fewest middlemen, and executing their crimes in the shortest time possible and with the least risk of discovery”

Following image from McAfee is showing us the Coin Miner malware, by family.

new-coin-miner-malware-by-family

Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at McAfee said that

“Cybercriminals will gravitate to criminal activity that maximizes their profit,” said “In recent quarters we have seen a shift to ransomware from data-theft, as ransomware is a more efficient crime. With the rise in value of cryptocurrencies, the market forces are driving criminals to crypto-jacking and the theft of cryptocurrency. Cybercrime is a business, and market forces will continue to shape where adversaries focus their efforts.”

If you have experienced something like that before, you might have unwittingly fallen victim to cryptojacking – when computers are secretly made to mine cryptocurrency.