Question 1

What is an example of cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

Hackers mostly bait victims into downloading malicious codes to their devices or clicking phishing email links. An example is the Romanian hacker group Outlaw, renowned for compromising Internet of Things (IoT) devices and Linux servers to mine Monero.

Question 2

Is cryptojacking illegal?

Accepted Answer

There’s a difference between legitimate crypto mining and cryptojacking. The former is a lawful and intentional exercise where miners use their resources to mine crypto. However, cryptojacking is inherently illegal because it is non-consensual.

Question 3

What is the difference between ransomware and cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

Ransomware is malware that corrupts data on a victim’s device and demands payment to restore it. Cryptojacking, on the other hand, secretly installs malware on a victim’s device to mine cryptocurrency illegally.

Question 4

Is crypto mining Illegal?

Accepted Answer

Several countries like China, Morocco, Bangladesh, Qatar, Nepal, and Egypt, among others, have banned crypto mining. Nonetheless, Bitcoin mining remains legal in most countries, including most states in the USA.

Question 5

What are cryptojacking methods?

Accepted Answer

Cryptojackers employ two primary methods to secretly mine cryptocurrencies using their victims’ devices. The first involves hackers enticing victims to click a malicious link on an email that loads cryptojacking malware on the device. The second method infects online ads or entire websites with JavaScript code that executes automatically when loaded in the target browser.

Question 6

What is a real-life example of cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

In 2018, the cryptojacking botnet Smominru infected over half a million devices, mainly in India, Russia, and Taiwan. The attackers targeted Windows servers and generated up to $3.6 million mining Monero (XMR) by the end of January.

Question 7

What type of malware is cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

Cryptojacking is a malware attack that secretly uses the target’s computing resources to mine cryptocurrencies. The malware implants itself within a victim’s device and works in the background without the target’s knowledge or consent.

Question 8

How do you detect cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

Cryptojacking can be hard to detect since the process is usually hidden or disguised to look like a regular activity on your device. However, you can conduct a cryptojacking test by checking your online devices' central processing unit (CPU) using a Task Manager or Activity Monitor. Some critical red flags to watch out for include decreased performance, slow systems, high energy consumption indicated by your electricity bills, and overheating of your devices.

Question 9

What are the dangers of cryptojacking?

Accepted Answer

Like ransomware, cryptojacking affects the victims, especially when it causes devices to overheat and becomes slower. Since it’s resource-intensive, cryptojacking causes your device's batteries to drain faster and could lead to device damage besides shortening their lifespans.

Question 10

Why is it called ransomware?

Accepted Answer

Cryptojacking is called a form of ransomware since attackers can use it as bait to detract attention from more serious threats, like blending ransomware with malicious mining. Some attackers have been known to combine the malware with fake antivirus software to access victims’ devices using ads that they’re asked to pay for to clean their computers of malware.

Ish Bautista

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