Despite the fact that the price of cryptocurrencies may be shockingly low at the moment, it seems that fraudsters are not giving up on innovative technology. In point of fact, the number of bitcoin miners with nefarious intentions saw a meteoric rise during the third quarter of this year.
This is what the most recent report from the cybersecurity specialists at Kaspersky says. According to the most recent data that was released by the firm, there has been a surge of 230% in the number of bitcoin miner types in the third quarter of 2022, compared to the same time period in the previous year. The number has increased by a factor of three since the third quarter of 2021.
Having said that, only in the third quarter of 2022, there were over 150,000 distinct types of bitcoin miners discovered to be in use by criminals. According to the findings of the researchers, their potential monthly income may reach as high as 2 Bitcoin, which, at the values that exist now, is equivalent to almost $32,000. Monero is a cryptocurrency that prioritizes anonymity and is almost hard to track, and this is why it is the most popular choice among online criminals.
Distribution through pirates
Hackers are using sites that are designed for the spread of illegal material, including as movies, music, computer games, and commercial software, in order to facilitate the distribution of miners. Criminals may reach a broad variety of victims by disseminating miners in the guise of cracks, activators, and even the programs themselves, which allows them to circumvent security measures.
The mining industry is characterized by high upkeep costs and poor profit margins. In order to participate in mining, a person has to have access to the most recent computer gear, a substantial amount of electrical energy, and some bandwidth. Because of the skyrocketing cost of power and the considerable drop in price of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, many genuine miners are shutting off their rigs and waiting for times when they will be more lucrative.
However, thieves are able to forgo the initial expense of installation and gain pure profit by stealing other people’s devices and power. This leaves the victims with underperforming endpoints(opens in new tab) and excessive electricity bills. Compiling the mining software is often a straightforward process, and it may also be obtained on the dark web for a reasonable price.
