Crypto Mining Malware Lurks In Pirated Software/Content , Says New Report

The last year has seen millions of people being affected by crypto mining malware and it has slowly become one of the biggest problems in the industry. In the first three quarters of 2018 alone, over five million people have been hit by this plague. If Cryptojacking Malware preyed on Make-A-Wish Foundation, you can be certain that nobody will be spared.

A new report by Kaspersky Lab, claims that the systems are getting infected with crypto mining malware via pirated software and content. In 2018 alone, the amount of malicious crypto mining attacks has grown by over 83 percent as compared to 2017. Kaspersky can state with certainty that in majority of these incidents, the installation and use of unlicensed software could be one of the primary causes leading to the attack.

(Read about: Kaspersky Lab’s reports claiming North Korea is behind major crypto hack)

March saw the zenith of the crypto attacks when over 1.2 million users faced such an attack. This has slowly become an extremely contentious issue for the crypto industry at large.

Kaspersky Lab security expert Evgeny Lopatin has stated:

“Our analysis of the economic background of malicious crypto-mining and the reasons for its widespread presence in certain regions revealed a clear correlation. The easier it is to distribute unlicensed software; the more incidents of malicious crypto-miner activities were detected. In short, an activity not generally perceived as especially dangerous, the downloading and installation of dubious software, underpins what is arguably the biggest cyber threat story of the year – malicious crypto-mining.”

In a bid to underline the causes of this leading global threat, researchers from the lab discovered that most systems were infected because the users installed pirated software or unlicensed content. Previously thought reasons like cost of electricity or cryptocurrency legislation, were not found to be actual drivers of this threat. On that note, you might want to check out our piece on how to keep your crypto wallets safe.