cryptojacking Archives

Where is Cybersecurity Heading in 2023?

Artificial Intelligence, cryptojacking, cybersecurity, malware, Ophtek, Phishing, Ransomware, remote workersAI, cryptojacking, Cybersecurity, malware, Ophtek, phishing, ransomware, remote workingOphtek, LLC

Aug 2023

We’re already halfway through 2023 and threat actors are showing no signs of slowing up, but just where is cybersecurity heading?

It may feel as though you’re waging a never-ending battle against hackers and, well, that’s exactly what you’re doing. However, the strategies and techniques of threat actors has changed significantly in the last two decades. Back in 2003, for example, ransomware was less prevalent, but now it’s a major player in terms of cyber-attacks. Therefore, it’s always good to keep one step ahead of the hackers and understand where they are likely to go next.

What Will Future Cyber Attacks Look Like?

The future of cybersecurity will be concerned with maintaining defenses against existing threats and tackling new, innovative strategies launched by threat actors. These attacks are expected to be based in the following categories:

Artificial Intelligence: the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) has been huge in the last couple of years, just look at the interest generated by ChatGPT in 2023. However, the power to cause damage with AI is causing just as many headlines. You can, for example, ask AI systems to help generate code to build computer programs. The exact same code which is used to build malware. This means that designing and executing malware could be easier than ever before, and lead to a surge in new attacks.

Remote working: since the pandemic, more and more employees have been working remotely. While this is convenient, and has been shown to enhance productivity, it also increases the risk of falling victim to malware. Although many remote workers connect to their employers through a VPN, they are often accessing this through devices which aren’t secure. Also, as they will not have colleagues directly around them to offer advice, employees will be more vulnerable to, for example, clicking a malicious link.

Phishing: threat actors have been launching phishing attacks for nearly 20 years, and this means that many PC users can easily spot a phishing email. But this doesn’t mean we’re safe. Instead, it’s likely that future attacks will be more sophisticated to be successful. Taking advantage of AI and machine learning, threat actors will be able to craft phishing emails which are both engaging and convincing. This will allow their attacks to be more successful and harvest more stolen data.

Cryptojacking: despite several significant attacks, cryptojacking is yet to hit the mainstream PC user in the same way that ransomware has. Nonetheless, cryptojacking attacks are on the rise. Accordingly, PC users are likely to become more familiar with them in the next few years. Cryptojacking, as the name suggests, involves hijacking a PC and using its computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies. Due to the huge amount of processing power required to mine cryptocurrency, these attacks target entire networks and can grind them to a halt.

Final Thoughts

These four attack strategies may not be troubling you every day, but they could soon become regular headaches. That’s why you need to adopt a proactive approach to cybersecurity. Make sure that you

keep updated on the latest threats, regularly review your security measures, and ensure that your staff are fully trained in cybersecurity best practices.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Malware Found in Illegal Downloads of Spider-Man Film

cryptojacking, firewall, malware, mining malware, moreno, Ophtek, torrentscryptojacking, firewall, malware, mining malware, moreno, Ophtek, torrentsOphtek, LLC

Jan 2022

Hackers have decided to cash in on the popularity of Spider-Man by infecting copies of his latest movie with cryptocurrency mining malware.

Going to the movies is an expensive activity these days and, as a result, many people are turning to illegal torrents. These torrents are shared by hundreds of different people, each sharing the entire film as a file, with downloaders able to download parts of the file from these multiple sources. It may sound like the perfect answer to paying and queuing at the movies, but it’s an act which infringes copyright and is 100% illegal. And, of course, there’s the little matter of malware being bundled into these torrents. Nonetheless, it’s estimated that around 28 million users download and share illegal files every day.

Illegal downloads are here to stay, so it’s important that you understand the dangers they carry in terms of cybersecurity. And the Spider-Man example is the perfect place to start.

Using Spider-Man to Spread Malware

The latest Spider-Man movie is ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home’ and it was released to theatres in December 2021. Within days of the movie’s premiere, poor quality copies – often filmed from within a theatre – started appearing on torrent sites such as The Pirate Bay. However, there were also torrents available which contained a nasty surprise. Several torrents which claimed to be of No Way Home contained a file with the name of ‘spiderman_net_putidmoi.torrent.exe’ – ‘net_putidmoi’ being Russian for No Way Home.

But far from presenting you with a copy of the new Spider-Man movie, activating this file would launch cryptocurrency mining malware. The malware automatically added exceptions to Windows Defender in order to avoid detection on the infected system. With this concealment in place, the malware could then harvest the PCs processing power to mine a cryptocurrency known as Monero. While mining cryptocurrency is legal, the hijacking of PCs to power this process is highly illegal and dangerous.

How Do You Avoid These Types of Infection?

The malware involved in the Spider-Man hack has not been shown to compromise any personal information. But it will slow your PC down. And a more dangerous piece of malware could easily start compromising your data. Therefore, it’s essential that you avoid falling victim to malware hidden in torrents. The best way to stay safe is:

Don’t Download Torrents: the simplest way to avoid malware within illegal torrents is to avoid downloading them. It’s much safer for your PC (and your criminal record) to visit official sources and pay the required amount for songs, software and movies.

Always Use a Firewall: Although the Spider-Man malware is clever enough to write exceptions into Windows Defender, many similar strains of malware are not as clever. And that’s why it’s crucial that you always run a firewall, these can instantly stop malware operating on your PC.

Investigate Sluggish PC Activity: if your PC is regularly grinding to a halt and struggling to complete simple processes, there’s a good chance it’s been hijacked. Restarting your PC in Safe Mode and running anti-malware software is the best way to start ruling out an infection.

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Cryptojacking Malware Rises by 4000% in 2018

cryptocurrency, cryptojacking, Internet of things, IoT Attacks, Ophtek, spam emailcryptojacking, Internet of Things, IoT, spam emailOphtek, LLC

Jan 2019

McAfee have reported that instances of cryptojacking malware have risen by a massive 4000% over the course of 2018 and are now a major security risk.

As the interest in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum has soared in the last couple of years, so has the interest in exploiting these opportunities for ill-gains. In particular, hackers have become increasingly fixated on the financial rewards available from mining cryptocurrency. Now, there’s nothing remotely illegal about mining cryptocurrency. In fact, it’s a lucrative business, but it’s also one that requires a significant amount of processing power from multiple PCs. And this is where hackers turn to underhand methods to generate this processing power.

Given this massive rise in cryptojacking activity, it’s likely that your organization will be targeted in the near future and it’s essential that you know what you’re dealing with, so let’s try to get a handle on it.

The Rise of Cryptojacking

The first quarter of 2018 saw cryptojacking activity increasing by 629% according to McAfee and a later report by Kaspersky has suggested that cryptojacking is now, in some countries, a bigger threat than ransomware. And, despite the relatively low processing power, hackers are increasingly targeting Internet of Things (IoT) devices to harness the power required to mine cryptocurrency successfully. You may wonder why IoT devices are being targeted, but the reasons are very simple: low levels of security and high volumes of online devices.

Cryptojacking’s rise in popularity can also be put down to the fact that it’s highly discreet compared to conventional malware and ransomware. Whereas those two forms of hacking will produce very obvious symptoms such as stolen data and encrypted files, cryptojacking malware runs quietly in the background. There will, of course, be a drop in the processing capabilities of an infected PC, but an average PC user will usually put this down to the age of the PC or a server problem. As a result, cryptojacking malware can flourish with little chance of being detected.

How is Cryptojacking Executed?

There are two main ways in which cryptojacking malware is able to execute its malicious payload:

Spam emails that contain a malicious link that, once clicked, download cryptomining software onto the victim’s PC.
Infected websites or ads that automatically install cryptomining software once the victim’s browser loads them up.

Detecting and Avoiding Cryptojacking

The drop in processing power that cryptojacking malware can levy on your organization’s PCs could seriously threaten your productivity. Therefore, it’s vital that you understand the warning signs of cryptojacking and how to protect your organization from such attacks.

The main warning sign of cryptojacking taking place is a drop in your CPU power. Any noticeable slowdown in productivity such as apps struggling to complete basic tasks should be investigated immediately. While it will take an IT professional to identify exactly what’s draining the PCs power, any PC user should be able to identify the slowdown.

When it comes to protecting your organization’s PCs from cryptojacking then you need to adhere to the following:

Good in-house education on the dangers of malicious links contained within emails
Install extensions in browsers that block mining software
Turn off JavaScript as this is frequently used by webpages to install cryptojacking software
Ensure correct security practices relating to IoT devices are followed

For more ways to secure and optimize your business technology, contact your local IT professionals.

Category Archives: cryptojacking

The Rise of Cryptojacking

How is Cryptojacking Executed?

Detecting and Avoiding Cryptojacking