The Hacking Epidemic of Crypto Miners

Get Into Cryptocurrency Trading Today

Crypto mining has become a massive business. With a Bitcoin arithmetic puzzle solved every 10 minutes, most people are looking to be part of it. The need for more space has seen hackers exploit other useful gadgets to mine under covers. 

These hacks have grown to epidemic levels. 

This guide looks into the reasons for the attacks, impacts, and how to keep safe; 

Reasons for Crypto's Susceptibility to Hacking 

Of all the digital assets, cryptos have proven to be some of the most susceptible to attacks. One of the main reasons for this is due to the liquidity of the currency. Some other digital assets are hard to use. They need you to exchange them into cash, which is cumbersome. Crypto is ready for money. They are the final product. 

Some other reasons for the too many attacks are;

• Many possible attack points – cryptocurrencies run on so many online avenues. Every exchange, wallet software, or user storage is a possible attack point. As much as one may be keen on security, it might prove challenging to be entirely secure. Any laxity by one single point posses a threat to the crypto user. Keeping safe requires one to ensure security in all the infrastructure within the crypto space. 

• Anonymity – the anonymous nature of crypto operations is one of its appeals to the users. It, however, poses a security threat. The successful attacks and the stealing of cryptos are hard to follow up. It means the illegal miners are sure they will always get away with taking advantage of other systems. 

• Undeveloped security structures -   crypto is a growing space with still a lot of things to develop. The security grows with the developing systems. Hackers are taking advantage of such lapses. At times it takes a cyber-attack attempt to establish a corresponding cybersecurity measure. One proof of the poor security was during the death of QuadrigaCX CEO.  The CEO reportedly died under mysterious circumstances as the sole person with the keys to access the exchange keys. It shows how organizations are yet to develop elaborate crypto security. 

Why Managing Hacking Miners is Quite Hard 

Every illegality comes with a known solution. The case of the hacking by crypto miners comes with a different dimension. It could not have become an epidemic if there existed a way to control it. 

The main concern that comes with this hacking is the execution by the professionals. No one can successfully hack a system if not an experienced guru. You need a better expert than the hacker to outsmart them. For now, there is little supply of top range tech gurus in crypto. 

First, the gurus understand every possible counter to their strategy. They have all the possible solutions in return. It takes time before coming up with another unique solution. 

Being the gurus, the hackers have learned to take advantage of the existing systems. They look for vulnerabilities from the existing trustworthy systems and take advantage.  They have taken the phishing attack tactics relatively high. 

Several reputable tech products have been casualties in the masquerading schemes. GitHub, for example, had cybercriminals hide in-browser crypto mining scripts to later attack users. Google, through Facebook Messenger, has also faced challenges. The miners have also targeted Tesla's cloud system before. 

Impacts of Crypto Hacking on Businesses 

The possibility of crypto-mining attacks is becoming a threat to most organizations. Any place that uses the powerful supercomputer should stay wary of such risks. They come with several negative impacts on business operations. 

One of the possible impacts of the crypto attacks is the underutilization of resources. Every company creates systems depending on needs. A mining malware takes up the available spaces meaning the company won't use it. They also spread fast and can take a massive space of the available. 

Mining attacks reduces user productivity. Any attacked machines tend to slow down and heat up. Any slow device provides lesser than needed output. Most of the systems can't handle the massive mining malware. They might end up malfunctioning. 

The mining attacks are also a threat to the company's reputation. A spell to the company's site slows it down. Any visitor to the site will find it hard to load, leading to low customer satisfaction. 

How to Protect Against Cryptojacking Threat 

Even though the crypto miners are having a field day, you can keep your systems safe. The safety precautions keep your system safe from the various crypto attacks. Some of the ways to protect against the cryptojacking threats include; 

• Patch the systems and applications – patching is the primary protection for every serious IT environment. A reliable patching process keeps all the systems safe from possible attacks. The IPS technology is one of the most popular patching systems. It provides full coverage against every possible attack. The system can also identify and block pages running suspicious JavaScript commands. 

• Protect cloud assets – cloud storage has been touted as the most secure system. However, crypto has proven to be an excellent breeding ground for hackers. The cloud comes with auto-scaling that allows for the easy spread of malware. Clouds also provide for several attack points. Most people having access makes it vulnerable to attacks. The hackers can execute an account takeover once they have cloud access. 

• Regularly observe computer performance – no single protection method is full proof. The attackers are ever looking for ways to outsmart the available protection. Failing to track the computer performance allows the mining tools to run on your system, reducing your performance. Observing your computer performance involves keeping your web filtering software up to date. Notice and block any page that appears to contain crypto-jacking scripts. Also, look into the status of your browser extensions. Only use reputable extensions, and monitor them regularly in case of filtration by the hackers. 

Bottom Line 

The cryptojacking threat is one of the current organizational menaces. Protecting against possible attacks is quite hard. The hackers are some of the most technically skilled. They also use top of the range of gadgets. Still, use this guide to learn how to keep safe.  

Buy & Sell Cryptocurrency Instantly