Tag Archive for: Cryptocoin

Microsoft and Intel Enable AI-Backed Protection Against CPU Cryptocoin Mining


The fervor of cryptocoin mining has consumed a large part of the semiconductor industry of late. The demands for high performance silicon to mine these virtual assets with value is one factor in a global shortage of available parts for computers, automobiles, defense, research, and other industries. One consistent element to cryptocoin mining over the last decade is the prevalence of hijacked machines and devices through malware, commonly known as botnets. Previously these armies of machines were co-opted to perform bandwidth attacks against various targets, but they have also been used for their compute resources – mining coins that have value for those that control the botnet. This week Intel and Microsoft are announcing an additional layer of protection against these sorts of attacks.

Commercial machines running Microsoft Windows, and managed through Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, can now be protected against CPU cryptocoin mining through an AI-backed protection mechanism. The security layer requires an Intel processor with Intel’s Hardware Shield (a vPro technology) and Threat Detection Technology enabled, which was introduced in 2018, and uses a combination of tools (such as CPU and GPU) to analyze the code being processed at a low level.

By performing consistent heuristic analysis through the CPU performance monitoring unit at a low level, the system can detect if it is mining without the owner’s consent. This can be detected either through a compromised hypervisor, virtual machine, or in the OS directly hidden as a separate process. If a threat is detected, an Endpoint detection and response solution is implemented to neutralize the mining utility, or quarantine it, and prevent the code from spreading across a network or fleet of managed systems.

Intel lists that over a billion CPUs can enable its Threat Detection Technology, from its 6th Generation processors onwards – Microsoft also highlights that Defender for Endpoint with TDT is supported on these systems. However both companies hide the fact in a footnote that the specific Cryptomining detection implementation is only possible on 10th Generation and newer platforms. It is also worth…

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