Crypto Jacking defined as combination of words of crypto and jacking. With the dawn of the cryptocurrency era, many people are looking to profit off this new digital asset. Many people have struck it rich by investing in the previously unsuspecting Bitcoin, which has made it a hot commodity in today’s world. However, now that the price of Bitcoin has skyrocketed, it is has made it inaccessible to many hopeful investors. People are scrambling to invest in what could be the next Bitcoin or Ethereum, hoping to get lavish returns on their paltry investments.
How do developers introduce new cryptocurrencies?
So, how exactly can one get their hands on a new crypto coin? This is done using a process called crypto mining. Cryptocurrencies operate using blockchains, which are ‘blocks’ of information that store information about the transactions made with these crypto coins. However, the actual development of these blocks depends on individuals, who provide the energy to actually compute them. In exchange for contributing the electricity and power to ‘mine’ these coins, the miners get crypto coins in return.
Larger cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin have dedicated teams of miners on hand to generate new coins. However, coins that are just starting out rely on individual miners to help them reach their target. They do this by promising incentives and crypto coins in return for the electricity provided. In this case, the miners invest their time and electricity to receive a coin of a higher value than the cost required to mine it. Once the coin makes its way onto exchanges, its value may rise or fall, in which case the miners may receive fantastic rewards for their efforts.
What is cryptojacking?
However, there are people who wish to reap the rewards of cryptocurrency without actually putting in an initial investment. Mining cryptocurrency can consume a lot of electricity- which can raise your monthly bill by a substantial amount! Many times, it can take a lot of energy to mine even a single coin. In fact, the entire Bitcoin network uses as much electricity as the entire country of Indonesia to keep itself afloat! To circumvent these costs, hackers have come up with a new method called crypto-jacking.
Crypto jacking is a combination of the words crypto and jacking. Crypto hackers hack their way into other people’s devices and use them to mine cryptocurrency. Mining cryptocurrency needs a constant supply of electricity as well as compatible hardware, which can be quite expensive. To successfully mine a profitable amount of coins, miners need to put in a lot of initial investment.
How is crypto hacking done?
Hackers can bypass this by using unsuspecting victims to do the mining for them. The process is similar to how hackers install other malware on people’s devices. They usually lure the victim into opening a malicious link via an email or app, which downloads the cryptojacking software onto their computer. They may also load a JavaScript program into a suspicious ad or link which will activate once the user clicks it. After the software is successfully installed, it works undetected in the background of the victim’s mobile or computer while in use.
Mining involves solving complex mathematical problems to create new blocks in the chain. The crypto coin developer may encourage miners to invest more power into their creation by holding competitions. The miner that wins is given a substantial number of coins or other monetary compensation as a reward. Cryptojackers can load their software into the devices of a number of people increasing their chances of mining more coins. The software stays at work in the background of the device and sends the results to a server controlled by the hacker.
Like other, destructive malware, cryptojacking programs do not aim to destroy the victim’s data or computer. Instead, they steal electricity and resources from the device owner. It also jacks up the usage cost of the device, which is quite detrimental for the victim.
Is cryptojacking dangerous?
For individuals, the damage may simply be a slower-performing device and a higher electricity bill. However, if the hacker manages to infiltrate an entire corporation, it may drive up their working costs by a lot. Mining takes a lot of electricity as it is continuously taking place in the background of the computer. It also uses up a ton of the computer’s performance resources, which are concentrated in solving the complex problems needed for mining. This may also lead to the loss of productivity among the workers as well as frustration because of computers and other devices hanging.
A few sites may ask for the user’s permission to mine coins through their computer. The site owners do this to monetize content in a less conspicuous manner. The visitors to the site are rewarded with free content while the site is mining crypto coins in the background. Once the visitor decides to leave, the mining automatically stops. This type of crypto mining using other people’s devices is quite ethical. However, it may turn into Crypto Jacking if the site does not cease operations once the user leaves. While the visitor is busy enjoying the content on the site, it may be downloading malicious Crypto Jacking software in the background. This software may unknowingly continue to mine crypto coins even after the visitor exits the site. In this case, the mining is malicious in nature.
How to identify if you have been cryotojacked
Crypto jacking using mobile phones, especially Android devices is becoming more common. Users are directed to download various apps, which actually download cryptojacking codes onto the device. By targeting many such devices, the hackers are able to accumulate enough power to mine crypto coins. This can drain the power of the device faster and affect its performance.
Crypto Jacking software does its best to go unnoticed. Many of them are installed as hidden windows or small, barely visible objects on the taskbar or as pop-ups. This can make identifying if you have been cryptojacked difficult.
Crypto Jacking Software
If you fear that your slow device performance may be due to Crypto Jacking, there are a few steps you can take to determine whether this is the case or not. The device usually uses up more power to fuel the background mining applications. This can reflect in how your device works. You may notice that your CPU is working overtime, or that your device is overheating a lot. Your phone battery may also be draining faster than usual, despite not much usage.
You can check whether you have indeed been Crypto Jacking by first closing all your browser windows. If your device begins to work faster after this, then the software may be in your browser. Make sure to remove any extensions on your browser, and use antivirus software to scan your device. Once this is done, delete any suspicious software that it detects from your device, and restart it. This may help to rid your device of crypto-jacking software.
Is cryptojacking still prevalent?
Crypto Mining has in fact decreased over the years. Due to CoinHive, a JavaScript miner site closing down, hackers have lost access to many scripts that would have enabled them to indulge in crypto hacking. Criminals are also beginning to shift to other, more profitable areas of hacking like ransomware, cyber attack. Cryptomining, even that done through Crypto Jacking, still does take a lot of time to actually reap any profitable rewards. However, that does not mean that hackers have abandoned Crypto Jacking just yet. The growing era of technology will always mean that criminals will always develop new ways to profit off innocent people.
It is, however, a low-risk type of hacking. Crypto-jacking software gives small, yet continuous returns. The chances of actually detecting Crypto Jacking software are also far lower than that of ransomware, which is why it is not dying down just yet. Even once the software is detected, determining its actual source can be extremely difficult. Hence, cryptojacking hackers often do not face many risks while indulging in such activities.
The introduction of anonymity-based coins like Monero and ZCash has also helped hackers in this regard. It is far more difficult to trace the origin of the source code when it comes to such crypto coins. In many cases, the victims may also not choose to pursue action against the hacker, as none of their data was compromised in the process. This can give hackers more incentive to indulge in Crypto Jacking activities.
Conclusion
So, the best way to prevent being Crypto Jacking is to monitor the performance of your device carefully. If you suspect that your device is behaving erratically because of Crypto Jacking, run an antivirus test to determine any foreign codes running in the background. Though Crypto Jacking is not as malicious as other ransomware, it can still cost the victim electricity usage and device performance. No one likes their privacy invaded. So it’s always best to stay vigilant and keep your antivirus on track!
