Home Altcoins News Mobile CryptoJacking Now on the Rise Revealed by Semantec Internet Security Report

Mobile CryptoJacking Now on the Rise Revealed by Semantec Internet Security Report

CryptoJacking

Cryptojacking pertains to the unauthorized use of the computing resources for cryptocurrencies mining and this has undeniably results to massive disruption with websites of high profile institutions and servers of biggest organizations being attacked and targeted.  A report has been released by Semantec and this indicated that there was really an increase in instances of wide ranging mobile crypto jacking.

Even smaller devices such as mobile phones can be prone to these malicious and risky scripts. Covert miners are certainly nothing new however, browser based cryptojacking saw about 34,000 percent increase last year and this was revealed by Semantec; which also claim that it was the biggest trending attack of year 2017.

Much of the targeted personal PCs and mobile devices which though may not seem highly lucrative , having limited amount of processing prowess is actually made profitable  by sheer economy scale. According to Sherif Nabawi, Symantec’s Senior Director, this is a game of masses and the more individuals are infected, the more money generated. One computer or mobile running in 24 hours may generate between 1 to 25 cents but if this is multiplied by 100,000 infected devices, individuals will obtain $25,000 overnight.

What’s the profit for thief however is essential inconvenience for victims. Infected devices are sluggish with battery life instantly deteriorating and their CPUs maxed out. The Symantec report also stated that scripts can overwork CPUs to such extent that they trigger batteries to overheat and devices may turn out  unusable. This known development can somewhat be one of the troublesome issues for many individuals but for various organizations, this can certainly be catastrophic. Coin miners can put the corporate network at risks for shutdown and run up the astronomical bills for organizations or companies which are billed based on the CPU usage.

The rapid rise on crypto jacking corresponds the increase on general popularity of the cryptocurrency and as investors feel FOMO, many cybercriminals hurriedly capitalize on this cryptocurrency craze which tends to move on from less profitable and increasingly more crowded ventures like the ransomware.

Nevertheless, web browsers start to fight back. Last year, the Opera has announced that anti crypto mining measures must be incorporated to mobile browser. This is considered one defensive move on the face of another yet invisible online threat.

Also, according to Nick FitzGerald, an ESET research fellow, crypto jacking trends are set to continue. According to him, globally, individuals are still enthusiastic about investing on crypto currencies. As long as this act of investing continues, value of virtual currencies will also likely to increase continuously. Crypto jacking will therefore continue as more cyber criminals will view this as instant and easy money.

With Mobile CryptoJacking now on the rise, it is just right to remind individuals that their mobile phones can actually help those cybercriminals for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin even if you’re diligent enough not to instantly download malware-laden apps, suspicious applications and more. Many cyber security experts also warn individuals against the rapidly rising cryptojacking threats on mobile phones.

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Sydney Ifergan

Sydney has 20+ years commercial experience and has spent the last 10 years working in the online marketing arena and was the CMO for a large FX brokerage.

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