<ul><li>Code changes to <keyword id="6289215" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Crypto-Mining">crypto mining</keyword> malware grew by over four times in the first quarter of 2021, according to a report by security firm Kaspersky.</li><li>Mining malware accounted for 41% of all malware detected in 2020.</li><li><keyword id="11404336" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptojacking-scams">Cryptojacking scams</keyword> used to be the rage in 2017-18 but became irrelevant over the past two years. With <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> gaining popularity, there has been a <keyword id="6405795" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="rise">rise</keyword> in cases this year.</li></ul>Pushback from regulators isn’t the only unwanted attention that the <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">cryptocurrency</a> industry has drawn over the past six months. It seems that the half-a-year-long bull run also drew cybercriminals towards the industry, and revived a kind of malware that has been all but dead for about two years now. <keyword id="6063616" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptojacking">Cryptojacking</keyword> is a specific type of scam that allows attackers to install malware — often called miners — on users’ devices. These miners utilize your device’s resources in the background to mine cryptocurrency. They used to be popular during the 2017-18 period, but became mostly irrelevant over the past two years or so. However, according to a report by security firm Kaspersky, cryptojacking cases have risen in the first quarter of 2021. The report shows that 432,171 users encountered miners on their devices in Q1, 2021. The number was pegged at 187,746 in January this year and 200,045 in March. The number of unique modifications to miners also increased by over four times, from 3,815 to 16,934. Unique modifications are changes to a miner’s code in order to mine a new kind of currency or adapt to new systems. Researchers at Kaspersky saw 23,894 new modifications to miners in the first quarter of 2021. Kaspersky isn’t the only one who noticed the rise either. According to Japanese tech services provider, <a href="https://hello.global.ntt/en-us/insights/2021-global-threat-intelligence-report">NTT</a>, crypto miners made up 41% of all detected malware in 2020, something that tech firms haven’t seen in a long time. Essentially, the boom in <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">cryptocurrency prices</a> drew more users to the industry, which led to more transactions and trading and hence increased the need for crypto mining. What is crypto mining? In the world of cryptocurrencies, mining is the process that authenticates all transactions and maintains the blockchain ledgers. Cryptocurrency transactions are dependent on mathematical equations that need to be solved, and the computer that solves an equation the fastest will get credit for authenticating a particular transaction. This credit comes in the form of new cryptocurrencies, which become a miner’s earnings. In the past few years, most of the world’s crypto mining needs were handled by large mining farms. These are data center like operations that produce more computing power than a thousand mobile phones or computers. According to some estimates, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/chinas-war-against-crypto-continues-as-weibo-bans-at-least-a-dozen-popular-cryptocurrency-accounts/articleshow/83309874.cms">over 70% of the world’s Bitcoin mining</a> is done in China. The country is known to be big for Ethereum and other currencies as well. The fact that mining farms could provide this much power meant that miner software became irrelevant in a way. An attacker would have to infect tens of thousands of computers to make any money from a miner malware. This, along with the fact that security and tech firms were actively tracking them, led miners to die out. Why are cryptojacking <keyword id="385583" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="scams">scams</keyword> dangerous? At this point, you might be wondering why a miner scam is dangerous in the first place, right? After all, all they do is use some of your computer’s power right? No stealing data, no spying on you, and all those other things that people find scary? Well, these scams can use up <a href="https://www.livemint.com/market/cryptocurrency/cryptojacking-attacks-rise-as-hackers-try-to-exploit-boom-11622892050042.html">as much as 70%</a> of your computer’s (or mobile phone’s) resources, slowing them down quite noticeably. This has been known to heat up devices unnaturally and even have them catch fire. While you will probably feel your phone or laptop heating up, cryptojacking malware can also affect IoT devices, which you usually wouldn’t monitor the same way. Further, the backdoors hackers use in order to infect your computer, mobile phone, etc. can <a href="https://www.malwarebytes.com/cryptojacking">also be used</a> to steal your data or spy on you. How to detect and avoid cryptojacking Unlike most malware, cryptojacking is virtually undetectable unless you’re looking for it. The only real sign of such an attack is that your device will slow down and tend to heat up. If you notice regular processes, like web browsing, etc. running slowly, you may have been affected by such malware. The ways to detect and avoid such scams also happen to be the same as any other malware. You should avoid clicking on unknown links, from emails, text messages and more. Many attackers also create websites that claim to reward you with crypto for clicking a button, you should avoid them too. And an antivirus always helps to make sure known cryptojacking malware is detected before it can hurt you. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/a-country-in-central-america-will-become-the-first-sovereign-government-to-approve-bitcoin-as-legal-tender/articleshow/83335659.cms">Here’s why El Salvador’s President is endorsing Bitcoin as a legal tender</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/heres-why-fuel-prices-in-india-may-not-come-down-in-a-big-way/slidelist/83299743.cms">Here’s why fuel prices in India may not come down in a big way ⁠— at least not this year</a>

Cryptojacking scams are on the rise once again, after declining for two years

<ul><li>Researchers at Avast have detected a new cryptojacking malware that’s targeting gamers across the globe, including India.</li><li>Dubbed Crackonosh, the malware is assumed to have a Czech origin.</li><li>The hackers behind the scam have made over $2 million in <keyword id="3626967" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Monero">Monero</keyword> (XMR) through the scam.</li></ul>Grand Theft Auto V, NBA 2K19, and Pro Evolution Soccer 2018 players are being duped into mining for cryptocurrency — and they may not even know it. In their quest to profit off of the currency rage around <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">cryptocurrencies</a>, hackers have now turned their attention to gamers as per new research by antivirus software make <a href="https://decoded.avast.io/danielbenes/crackonosh-a-new-malware-distributed-in-cracked-software/">Avast</a>. The report highlights that cybercriminals are spreading malware by duping people into downloading games that are laced with malware. Avast has been able to catch over 800 cases on a daily basis. The researchers estimate that the perpetrators have been able to make over $2 million worth of Monero (XMR) through the scam using the malware called Crackonosh. Monero is a privacy coin that is infamous for being used by cybercriminals because it is much more difficult to trace than other cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. <div type="image" title="Number of users infected by Crackonosh since December 2020. In May it is still about a thousand hits every day" msid="83839860" hostid="261"></div> What is Crackonosh and how does it work? According to Avast, Crackonosh has been able to fly under the radar because the malware has built-in mechanisms to disable security software and updates. This makes it difficult for victims to detect the program, let alone remove it from their systems. <div type="image" title="A gamer’s complaint on being hacked on a Reddit forum, which led Avast to investigate" msid="83839879" hostid="261"></div> The malware itself is assumed to have Czech origins, but its victims are spread out all over the world — the US, the Philippines, Brazil and even India, which accounts for 6% of the overall people affected. <div type="image" title="Number of hits since December 2020. In total over 222,000 unique devices." msid="83839904" hostid="261"></div> Cryptojacking schemes, like Crackonosh, install malware called miners into unsuspecting users’ computers, which then use the computer’s processing power to mine <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">cryptocurrency</a>. This makes gamers amongst the most lucrative targets, since gaming devices carry the most powerful processors and graphics chips in the PC segment. Cyrptojacking is the new ‘get rich quick’ scheme The Crackonosh malware is a part of the growing number of cryptojacking schemes that security experts have detected across the internet over the past year. Fellow cybersecurity firm and antivirus software provider, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cryptojacking-scams-are-on-the-rise-once-again-after-declining-for-two-years/articleshow/83335965.cms">Kaspersky</a>, warned that cryptojacking scams were on the rise earlier this month. The company said it had seen over 432,171 encounters with such malware between January to March in 2021. And, 200,045 of these encounters were in the month of March alone. Malware researchers from CISCO also <a href="https://blog.talosintelligence.com/2021/03/cheating-cheater-how-adversaries-are.html#more">found</a> such malware embedded in cheat software for games in March. Even before the boom of 2021, Japanese tech services provider, NTT, claims that cryptojacking malware accounted for 41% of all malware last year. Since they run in the background, such scams are tough to detect. Issues like slow or sluggish performance, wearing out of components and increased electricity bills — for those who run external graphics chips — could be a sign that your PC has been infected. <a href="https://forum.businessinsider.in/">For a more in-depth discussion, come on over to Business Insider Cryptosphere</a> — a forum where users can deep dive into all things crypto, engage in interesting discussions and stay ahead of the curve. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/idfc-first-bank-joins-icici-bank-yes-bank-and-others-in-crypto-ban-despite-rbis-nudge-to-ignore-its-2018-order/articleshow/83835420.cms">IDFC First Bank joins ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and others in stopping services to crypto companies, despite RBI's nudge to ignore its 2018 order</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/windows-11-is-getting-android-apps-pubg-mobile-amazon-appstore/articleshow/83830873.cms">Windows 11 is getting Android apps – you will soon be able to natively run PUBG Mobile and other popular Android apps and games</a>

A new cryptocurrency scam targeting gamers has already siphoned off $2 million in Monero

<ul><li>The announcement from <keyword id="100686" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Paraguay">Paraguay</keyword> comes days after El Salvador announced plans to accept <keyword id="6354947" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="bitcoin">Bitcoin</keyword> as legal tender.</li><li>Large mining farms in China have been forced to consider alternatives after the country’s recent crackdowns.</li><li>Cooler countries will be preferred for <keyword id="2721952" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="crypto">crypto</keyword> mining.</li></ul>South American country Paraguay has become the second country to consider regulations that will be favourable towards the crypto business this week. First reported by <a href="https://www.coindesk.com/paraguay-may-be-next-to-seek-crypto-businesses-with-july-bill">Coindesk</a>, Carlos Rejala, a Paraguayan Congressman is set to present a bill that will set favourable regulations for crypto mining and <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">crypto exchange</a> businesses that want to set up shop in the country. 36-year old Rejala had supported such regulations earlier in the week, after the El Salvador government announced plans to accept Bitcoin as legal tender in the country. “As I was saying a long time ago, our country needs to advance hand in hand with the new generation. The moment has come, our moment. This week we start with an important project to innovate Paraguay in front of the world!” Rejala said in a <a href="https://twitter.com/carlitosrejala/status/1401712725886132224?s=20">tweet</a> on June 7 (translated from Spanish). <div type="twitter" handle="carlitosrejala" handlename="Carlitos Rejala 🙏🇵🇾🙌" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1401712350344978437/9T7hkMxv_normal.jpg" favoritecount="14933" retweetcount="2971" status="Como ya lo decía hace un buen tiempo, nuestro país necesita avanzar de la mano de la nueva generación.Llegó el mom… https://t.co/RTdz3zzLrN" createdat="1623029331000" id="1401712725886132224"></div> According to Coindesk, the Congressman has followed Bitcoin since 2017 and had also started trading in crypto in 2019. “The announcement prompted me not to be afraid and to think that this can be real in my country,” he told the publication, about introducing a bill in his own country after El Salvador announced its plans. Like El Salvador, Rejala plans to push for Bitcoin to be accepted as legal tender if the first bill is accepted. Why are El Salvador and Paraguay looking to make the moves now? Paraguay and El Salvador have picked the right time to announce their intentions for the crypto industry. The boom in the <a href="https://wazirx.com/signup?invite=2kpah6gr&amp;utm_source=business-insider&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=microsite">crypto market</a> has not only created room for new traders but also more crypto miners. The rationale is simple, more trading means more transactions, which means more miners, because they’re the ones who authenticate the transactions. China’s recent crackdown on crypto mining is forcing big mining farms to look for new locations where they can set up their business. For instance, two of the largest crypto miners in the world — Huobi and BTC.TOP — <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cryptocurrency-miners-in-china-may-move-their-operations-overseas-as-beijing-intensifies-its-crackdown/articleshow/82910323.cms">announced last month</a> that they’re looking for options elsewhere. “In the long term, nearly all of Chinese crypto mining rigs will be sold overseas, as Chinese regulators crack down on mining at home,” Jiang Zhuoer, the founder of BTC.TOP, wrote on the Chinese social media platform Weibo. BTC.TOP is a crypto mining pool, a common occurrence in the industry where multiple miners combine their resources to make one big mining operation. Hashcow, which runs 10 mining farms in China, had also announced that it will stop operations in the country. China accounts for over 70% of all Bitcoin mining in the world, and one of the reasons for this was cheap energy. If Paraguay and El Salvador can promise companies the same, they could really capitalize on this situation. According to a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/26/major-china-bitcoin-mining-hub-lays-out-harsher-crackdown-measures.html">project</a> by the University of Cambridge, called the Cambridge Bitcoin Electricity Consumption Index, Bitcoin mining consumes about 112.57 terawatt-hours of energy every year, which is more than the total electricity consumption of some countries. Seeking crypto business But El Salvador and Paraguay aren’t the only countries that are vying for a piece of the crypto pie. In fact, Argentina has <a href="https://www.scmp.com/tech/tech-trends/article/3135558/bitcoin-mining-booms-argentina-thanks-cheap-electricity-and">seen a boom</a> in crypto mining recently, on the back of cheap availability of electricity. The fact that the crypto mining process consumes a lot of energy is no secret, and much of this is required just to cool down the farms. As a result, many companies are considering moving to cooler countries too. For example, the United States’ Miami <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/markets/cryptocurrency/miami-looking-to-be-next-crypto-hotspot-hosts-bitcoin-event/articleshow/83278443.cms">could be</a> one of the future options. The global <keyword id="6357017" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="cryptocurrency">cryptocurrency</keyword> mining hardware market is expected to grow to $2.8 billion by 2024, at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7%, so there is room for more than one country to capitalize though. SEE ALSO: <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/a-country-in-central-america-will-become-the-first-sovereign-government-to-approve-bitcoin-as-legal-tender/articleshow/83335659.cms">Here’s why El Salvador’s President is endorsing Bitcoin as a legal tender</a> <a target="_blank" class="c-link c-message_attachment__title_link" href="https://www.businessinsider.in/cryptocurrency/news/cryptojacking-scams-are-on-the-rise-once-again-after-declining-for-two-years/articleshow/83335965.cms">Cryptojacking scams are on the rise once again, after declining for two years</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/mobile/news/here-are-the-coolest-ios-15-features-coming-to-iphones/slidelist/83362145.cms">Here are the coolest iOS 15 features coming to iPhones</a>

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Cryptojacking scams are on the rise once again, after declining for two years

BI India Bureau

A new cryptocurrency scam targeting gamers has already siphoned off $2 million in Monero

BI India Bureau

After El Salvador, Paraguay considers Bitcoin adoption

BI India Bureau