Despite the drop in cryptocurrency prices, it is still worthwhile for criminals to use other people’s computers to mine cryptocurrency via malware.
The tech giant writes this in a new report. Microsoft warns that cryptocurrency may be less than a few months ago, but it is still an important resource for criminal organizations. Microsoft says that the popularity of cryptojacking remains high. In cryptojacking, attackers infect computers with malware that extracts cryptocurrencies for them, at the expense (electricity) of the infected user.
In a blog post, Microsoft wrote that it still detects hundreds of thousands of encrypted encoders every month through its antivirus service. Since a large amount of computing power is required, it is placed mainly on servers and virtual machines, and not so much on a laptop at home. Especially popular is XMRig, a malware created for Monero mining. The latter coin is completely anonymous and thus is seen as one of the most popular coins for illegal activities.
The tech giant writes this in a new report. Microsoft warns that cryptocurrency may be less than a few months ago, but it is still an important resource for criminal organizations. Microsoft says that the popularity of cryptojacking remains high. In cryptojacking, attackers infect computers with malware that extracts cryptocurrencies for them, at the expense (electricity) of the infected user. In a blog post, Microsoft wrote that it still detects hundreds of thousands of encrypted encoders every month through its antivirus service. Since a large amount of computing power is required, it is placed mainly on servers and virtual machines, and not so much on a laptop at home. Especially popular is XMRig, a malware created for Monero mining. The latter coin is completely anonymous and thus is seen as one of the most popular coins for illegal activities.
