For three months this year, removed ads from its sites in exchange for users allowing them to mine virtual currencies. Some websites, including, have tried to do it legitimately and been transparent about it. When the victim switches, the mining ends. The victim visits a site, which latches onto the victim's computer processing power to mine digital currencies as long as they are on the site. It can also be done through a web browser. In virtual currency mining, computers are used to make the complex calculations that verify a running ledger of all the transactions in virtual currencies around the world.Ĭrypto-jacking is not done only by installing malicious software. Hackers try to use victims' processing power because that is what's needed to create-or "mine"-virtual currencies. "We saw organizations whose monthly electricity bill was increased by hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Maya Horowitz, Threat Intelligence Group Manager for Checkpoint, a cybersecurity company. But that can add up to a lot of processing power over a period of months or if, say, a business's entire network of computers is affected. Depending on the severity of the attack, victims may notice only a slight drop in processing power, often not enough for them to think it's a hacking attack. So-called "crypto-jacking" attacks have become a growing problem in the cybersecurity industry, affecting both consumers and organizations. As the popularity of virtual currencies has grown, hackers are focusing on a new type of heist: putting malicious software on peoples' handsets, TVs and smart fridges that makes them mine for digital money.
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