Malicious Cryptocurrency Mining, or Cryptojacking, is the unauthorized use of a user’s device to mine cryptocurrencies. This article covers primary infection methods and tips for identification and prevention of cryptomining malware.
First off, let’s make it clear that there is nothing inherently malicious about the act of cryptocurrency mining. Rather, over the past couple of years cybercriminals and bad actors have leveraged existing exploits and found unsecured hardware to implant Cryptocurrency Mining code and steal CPU/GPU cycles from computer owners and website visitors without their knowledge. These activities are what we refer to as “Malicious Cryptocurrency Mining”.