Ransomware is oh, so 2017. Today, all the smart hackers have turned to illicit cryptomining to fill their coffers.
Due to a combination of a leaked NSA hack, a cryptocurrency more anonymous than Bitcoin, and benign cryptocurrency transaction processing (aka ‘mining’) software that requires no command and control link back to the attacker, we now have the perfect combination of easy money, slim chance of detection, and billions of unsuspecting targets that may not even care they’ve been hacked.
Criminals around the world are rejoicing, still incredulous at how easy it is to make money while they sleep.
Assembling the Pieces of the ‘Perfect Crime’
In early 2017, a hacker group released into the wild a number of NSA-created hacks including EternalBlue, which made it dead simple to crack open Microsoft Windows.
Meanwhile, cryptocurrency advocates unhappy with Bitcoin’s lack of true anonymity developed Monero, an altcoin better able to hide the tracks of criminal transactions. Guess what? Criminals love it.
The third component of his nefarious enterprise: the fact that all blockchain-based systems leverage distributed transaction processors known as miners, who automatically receive a payment for their efforts in whatever cryptocurrency they choose to process.
Sulfur – saltpeter – charcoal – and bam! The global hacker community just invented gunpowder: the ability to surreptitiously install illicit Monero miners on unsuspecting computers around the world.
Windows servers. Laptops. Android devices. Even IoT endpoints. All of them making money for the bad guys every minute, day and night – any bad guys, really, but most noticeably Russian and Chinese organized crime syndicates.
And you may have no idea you’ve been hacked, other than occasional performance slowdowns and higher electric bills. No ransom notes. No stolen files of passwords or credit card numbers. You may not even be able to convince anybody there’s a problem.
Read the entire article at https://www.forbes.com/sites/jasonbloomberg/2018/03/04/top-cyberthreat-of-2018-illicit-cryptomining/.
Intellyx publishes the Agile Digital Transformation Roadmap poster, advises companies on their digital transformation initiatives, and helps vendors communicate their agility stories. As of the time of writing, Microsoft is an Intellyx customer. None of the other organizations mentioned in this article are Intellyx customers. Image credit: public domain.
