Avoid Cryptomining Bots Throttling Your Computing Power

In late 2017, the price of cryptocurrency skyrocketed, bringing a lot of attention to this previously obscure branch of financial computing. However, this also brought along with it a host of shady practices and tactics – one of which is stealth cryptomining bots.

- Ong Xiang Hong

As they are anonymous and decentralised in nature, cryptocurrencies are particularly favoured by cybercriminals to make undetectable payments. Cryptocurrencies work via encryption verified by solving complex mathematical algorithms. This work is known as ‘cryptomining’, and it requires enormous amounts of computing power. Successful miners obtain new cryptocurrency as a reward.

WHAT ARE CRYPTOMINING BOTS?

In its previous cybersecurity threat iteration, cryptocurrency was used as a method of payment to unlock ransomware. This was the equivalent of robbing someone by pointing a gun at their face. However, cryptomining bots operate in a more subtle manner. Instead of wreaking havoc with a user’s files, these bots silently mine cryptocurrency in the background, using their victim’s computing power and bandwidth to obtain mining rewards.

Based on research done by IBM, there was an 8,500 per cent jump in the volume of crypto-mining efforts while criminal IoT compromises grew by 600 per cent over the previous year. While the ransomware threat has somewhat tapered off due to the decreased ransom fees, the skyrocketing price of cryptocurrencies has spurred cybercriminal organisations to turn their attention to cryptomining malware.