What's Hot

    PancakeSwap users invited to participate in a decisive vote

    June 25, 2022

    the Cardano Foundation joins The Linux Foundation

    June 25, 2022

    The bear market is the best opportunity

    June 25, 2022
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    Facebook Twitter Instagram
    THECRYPTNEWS
    • Home
    • News
    • Guides
    • NFT
    • Analysis
    THECRYPTNEWS
    Home » Mining cryptocurrency, a stealthy activity that can cost businesses dearly
    Guides

    Mining cryptocurrency, a stealthy activity that can cost businesses dearly

    AdminBy AdminDecember 22, 2021No Comments5 Mins Read
    Share
    Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

    € 71,275 every ten minutes is the amount a person or organization can currently earn if their network of computers is the first in the world to validate the latest Bitcoin transactions.

    This operation, mining, requires phenomenal processing power, because it consists of calculating a unique encryption key from all the keys issued since the creation of Bitcoin. Failing to win the race, it is possible to join a miners’ farm and share the earnings up to the contribution.

    Note that the same mining principle exists for all cryptocurrencies. The less famous will pay less for the calculation effort, but the gain will be shared with fewer participants.

    The mining phenomenon has grown to such an extent that participants no longer have enough of their own machines to hope to pocket an attractive fraction of the reward. A technique has therefore been developed to go and steal power from Internet users: make their PCs execute mining JavaScript which is automatically launched when they visit certain sites. To give an idea of ​​the scale of this fraud, Zscaler alone has blocked more than 2.5 billion mining attempts via the web in the last six months.

    Companies at the forefront of the victims

    According to studies conducted by Zscaler’s lab, ThreatlabZ, the content categories most affected by the triggering of a mining JavaScript are of course pornography and online media broadcasting, but also – and this is more unexpected – service sites professional and marketing.

    It should be understood that minors have every interest in favoring the content on which Internet users will spend time. In this sense, the platforms that employees work with are just as interesting as videos watched for over an hour. But above all, it means that companies are among the first victims of web mining.

    Fraudulent mining impacts business IT in several ways. It causes performance problems, on the workstation, on Internet access, which are likely to reduce employee productivity. It prematurely wears out the materials, because their components are used to their maximum capacity during the entire mining period for the benefit of calculations. It also consumes more energy and increases the bill the company has to pay.

    Finally, companies that unwittingly host mining activities on their equipment are exposed to the risk of compliance breaches.

    All types of sites are susceptible to stealth mining

    All other content categories are affected by stealth mining, to a lesser extent. On a sample of 500 sites triggering a mining operation among the 100,000 most visited domains, ThreatlabZ found as many shareware download portals as webmail, as many peer-2-peer search engines as news sites or as many blogs as job search sites.

    Sites that mine cryptocurrency on Internet users’ PCs do so on purpose or not; several cases have been proven of pirate minors having managed to hook their JavaScript to web pages without the proprietary brand knowing about it. In other cases, the publisher of the site himself announces more or less clearly to replace its advertising panels by mining codes on the pretext that they disturb their visitors less. It should indeed be specified that the encryption javascripts are invisible. Only the hissing sound of the PC fan to cool its overheated processor can suggest that something untoward is going on.

    In certain cases, finally, the mining code is integrated into the advertising panels, which penalizes the Internet user on all points.

    Hosting mining exposes legal and security risks

    For companies whose website triggers – intentionally or not – a mining on the posts of its visitors, ethical questions come into play. At a minimum, they can be accused of not having informed their users on how their systems will be affected. As mining is a new phenomenon, jurisdiction is unclear. However, let us cite the example of the American city of Plattsburgh, in the state of New York, which has banned mining for an 18-month period in order to stop the surge in energy consumption and which has effectively exposed any offender. to prosecution.

    In addition, hosting mining JavaScript increases the risk of exposure to malware. JavaScript code is indeed easily manipulated by cybercriminals for other purposes, such as preparing cyber attacks against employees and customers.

    A growing market for web mining tools

    According to Zscaler ThreatlabZ, the most active mining tool in terms of mining attempts is CoinHive. This is hardly surprising since he was the first, in September 2017, to have a commercial service to mine cryptocurrency from a browser. In the studies that we have carried out, we have noticed that the integration of CoinHive in websites has evolved over time. Now, its code is hidden in lines with complex syntax that make it look at first glance as simple JavaScript code.

    Another such tool is Crypto-Loot. Because of its tariff – 12% is taken from profits made, compared to 30% for CoinHive – we expect a significant increase in its use.

    Another example is JSE-Coin, whose JavaScript is located on a server external to the website that it infects, like Google AdSense. DeepMiner is a free and open source JavaScript dedicated to the mining of Monero and Electroneum cryptocurrencies. Minr, finally, is the least used of the five mining tools encountered, which may paradoxically encourage its use on the pretext that it will generate more earnings.

    The story is not about to end. Zscaler ThreatlabZ has in fact already identified the development of new tools, called Project-Poi, Coin-blind, Coin-nebula, Coin-Have or even Coin-Imp.

    To protect yourself from the threat of stealth mining, you need to take precautions. You must first disable JavaScript in browsers and only enable it when you visit trusted sites. Known domains from cryptocurrency mining should also be blocked. Finally, it is necessary to be able to monitor sudden spikes in memory usage.

    (photo credit © Arina P Habich – shutterstock)

    Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Email
    Admin
    • Website

    Related Posts

    ABF: the promise of a national blockchain at VivaTech

    June 17, 2022

    NFT Cloud: what we know about the Salesforce initiative

    June 13, 2022

    “Smart contract”: development security to be reviewed?

    April 29, 2022

    Cryptoassets to the rescue of Ukraine?

    March 4, 2022
    Add A Comment

    Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

    Recent Posts

    • PancakeSwap users invited to participate in a decisive vote
    • the Cardano Foundation joins The Linux Foundation
    • The bear market is the best opportunity
    • The new hunting ground for cryptocurrency scammers
    • Crypto Firms Cut Ad Spending by 90% After Bitcoin (BTC) All-Time High

    Recent Comments

    No comments to show.

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest sports news from THECRYPTNEWS.

    Advertisement

    Archives

    • June 2022
    • May 2022
    • April 2022
    • March 2022
    • February 2022
    • January 2022
    • December 2021

    Categories

    • Analysis
    • Guides
    • News
    • NFT

    The leader in news and information on cryptocurrency, digital assets and the future of money, THECRYPTNEWS is a media outlet that strives for the highest journalistic standards and abides by a strict set of editorial policies.
    We're social. Connect with us:

    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest YouTube WhatsApp Reddit
    Top Insights

    PancakeSwap users invited to participate in a decisive vote

    June 25, 2022

    the Cardano Foundation joins The Linux Foundation

    June 25, 2022

    The bear market is the best opportunity

    June 25, 2022
    Get Informed

    Subscribe to Updates

    Get the latest creative news from THECRYPTNEWS

    Facebook Twitter Instagram Pinterest
    • Home
    Copyright © 2021 Thecryptnews.com

    Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

    We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
    Cookie SettingsAccept All
    Manage consent

    Privacy Overview

    This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
    Necessary
    Always Enabled
    Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
    CookieDurationDescription
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
    cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
    viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
    Functional
    Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
    Performance
    Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
    Analytics
    Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
    Advertisement
    Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
    Others
    Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
    SAVE & ACCEPT

    DMCA - Terms and Conditions - Privacy Policy