Hackers on the Prowl for Free Loot as Markets Crash

By Swati Kishore

The third largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization, Ethereum has been stricken during the ongoing bear crypto market. The slump in the crypto markets has witnessed the value of some of the most significant digital currencies nosediving to unexpected lows.

Ethereum’s woes, however, don’t end here. The cryptocurrency which is trading at USD 92.01 (at the time of writing), is also being preyed upon by hackers!

On the prowl, these hackers are targeting Ethereum mining hardware to make profits before the prices go down further from here.

As per a recently published news report, it is revealed that hackers are actively scanning networks to target Ethereum mining hardware as well as wallets. As per cybersecurity researchers, hackers have been running this mass scale campaign since December 3rd, 2018.

Port 8545 (which is the standard port for JSON RPC interface) is being specifically targeted. With the help of the API interface, hackers can scan mining data.

Wallets and mining hardware that aren’t secured leave the interface exposed, thus leaving it vulnerable to hackers. The interface, by default, does not have a password set and it requires the user to configure one during the setup process. Hackers leverage the unsecured interfaces to lift Ether from wallets by exploiting the port.

Interestingly, the threat is not new. Back in August, the team at Ethereum had published a warning for Ethereum clients who are not configured securely. Ethereum team recommended that clients filter traffic using a firewall and include a password to secure the interface.

Mining rig vendors are taking steps to alleviate the hacking issue by way of entirely eradicating the interface. Another step being taken by vendors is to limit the use of the port. Despite all the efforts, hackers are continuously scanning vulnerable clients.

As per reports by a cyber security firm, scan activity has tripled over the last one week. Apparently as much as 4,700 mining devices and wallets are exposing their ports. While the prices of digital currencies are on the floor, however, hackers on the lookout for some free loot do not see this as a deterrence.