The National Cyber Security Center (NCSC) of the UK is the technical department of the UK government's communications headquarters. In its latest report on cyber threats faced by British companies, the agency emphasized that mining and hijacking is a major issue.
The report criticized websites that exploited cryptocurrency without user permission, and pointed out that 55% of the world's enterprises were attacked by cryptocurrency mining in December last year. The report specifically cited the example of monero. , People frequently mine this currency through the browser application Coinhive.
This situation has not eased since entering 2018. The report states that more than 4,000 websites use plug-ins for visually impaired users to secretly encrypt currency mining, saying that 'the only thing a user might notice is that their device is hijacked is device performance. Slightly lower '.
The document also wrote:
'Cryptocurrency mining through malware has been around for several years, but in 2018-2019, there may be a major threat that uses newer technology to exploit people's access to websites to mine cryptocurrencies.'
The NCSC added: 'We speculate that most mining hijackings are implemented by cybercriminals, but website owners also target visitors to their websites and use the processing power of visitors' CPUs without their knowledge or knowledge. In the case of consent, cryptocurrency mining is performed for their own benefit.
It is said that some sites may exploit the cryptocurrency under the user's permission. The report enumerates examples of the online media 'Salon'. This is stated in an earlier report. According to previous reports, the site was announced in February to allow readers to choose how to access their content. - Reading advertisements or mining cryptocurrencies. However, the report points out that this move is only a trial.
The report recommends that users use ad blocking software and anti-virus programs that can block browser mining to prevent their computers from being hijacked.