Tag Archive for: Mining

Norton Anti-Virus is Becoming a Crypto Mining Botnet

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Tuesday, January 18, 2022

In the before-times – the heady days of 2017 when the prices of both Bitcoin and Ethereum skyrocketed and seemed immune to gravity – several well-known companies boosted their value by claiming to build new products on the blockchain or to create a solid trustworthy crypto-coin. The trend has continued through the pandemic.

We often note a whiff of desperation in old-economy businesses trying to re-invent themselves as blockchain or crypto companies. For example, according to Krebs On Security, RadioShack relaunched in 2020 as an online brand and “now says it plans to chart a future as a cryptocurrency exchange” by helping old-school customers feel comfortable with crypto speculation. We know that a few years ago photo giant Kodak, whose primary product was replaced by ubiquitous digital cameras on smartphones, announced moves into cryptocurrency called KodakCoin and Kodak KashMiner which quickly and temporarily boosted Kodak’s stock price 60%. The New York Times stated at the time, “Almost immediately, critics pounced on the company’s plans, characterizing them as a desperate money grab.” Kodak soon abandoned the coin and digital mining effort and Kodak now claims to be a drug company. Who is next, Blockbuster as NFT-factory?

No, the newest surprising news is Norton LifeLock as a crypto miner. Not that Norton LifeLock is an old-economy company, but it is a relatively stogy security firm offering a two-decade-old product that seems less relevant now than it used to be. In the internet age, software firms from the 1990s may count as “old-economy.”

Norton LifeLock has started offering the “Norton Crypto” tool as part of its famous yellow-branded Norton 360 software for home and business computers. Norton Crypto allows paying customers to mine cryptocurrencies while their computers are otherwise inactive. When the tool is turned on, Norton brings together all of its customers’ mining capacity into a pool of computing power that mines Ethereum then breaks the value of the mined currency into pieces and deposits a small percentage into a Norton…

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Crypto Mining Hackers vs. Cloud Computing—Google States the Obvious

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Google’s new Cybersecurity Action Team (CAT) would like you to know that insecure cloud instances can be hijacked by hackers. And the #1 workload they use to steal your CPU time is cryptocurrency mining.

Stop the press. Did we really need to be told that? Seems pretty obvious. It’s hardly the first time we’ve heard about thieves creating imaginary money with stolen IaaS compute resources.

But let’s look closer. In today’s SB Blogwatch, we see if there’s a “there” there.

Your humble blogwatcher curated these bloggy bits for your entertainment. Not to mention: Seltsame Fakten zu Deutschland.

GCP CAT Fluff

What’s the craic? Simon Sharwood says—“Google advises passwords are good, spear phishing is bad, and free clouds get attacked”:

“Authentication and security are good ideas”
The report advises that analysis of 50 recently hijacked Google Cloud instances revealed 86 percent were put to work mining cryptocurrency. Crims got in because, in 48 percent of cases, operators didn’t have a password, had a weak password, or didn’t bother authenticating APIs.
…
Thanks, Google! We’re not sure [we] could have figured out that authentication and security are good ideas. … Perhaps future reports, which are promised to offer “Early Warning announcements about emerging threats requiring immediate action” will prove a little more exciting.

Is that snark entirely fair? Scott Chipolina clears away the turkey—“Hackers Are Breaking into Cloud Accounts to Mine Crypto”:

“Obtaining profit”
A Google Threat Horizon Report … published by the Google Cybersecurity Action Team … has raised concerns over hacked cloud accounts being used to mine cryptocurrency. … According to the report, the two common goals behind this activity involve “obtaining profit” and “traffic pumping.”

O RLY? Dan Milmo adds leftover cranberries—“Cryptocurrency miners using hacked cloud accounts, Google warns”:

“Poor customer security”
“Mining” is the name for the process by which blockchains such as those that underpin cryptocurrencies are regulated and verified, and requires a significant amount of computing power. … In the majority of cases the…

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Sensors Data Management, IoT Mining and Analytics

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Definition of Internet of Things (IoT )

The Internet of Things stands for IoT. Things refer to the items we use in our daily lives (e.g., domestic appliances and electronics). These items, termed the Internet of Things, are accessible or connected through the Internet. A network of physical items incorporated in the software, electrical devices and sensor systems that allow these things to gather and share data may be characterized as the Internet of Things.

The IoT objective is to increase the connectivity of the Internet from ordinary devices such as computers, mobile telephones, and electrical gadgets. Due to various technology convergence, real-time analytics, machine education, computer computer science, commodity sensors, and embedded systems, things have evolved. The Internet is supplemented by traditional areas of embedded systems, wireless sensor networks, control systems, automation (including building automation and home automation), and others. IoT technology is the most synonymous consumer technology with goods that support one or more common ecosystems under the idea of “smart home,” incorporating gadgets and appliances (for example lighting systems, thermostats, security systems, cameras, etc.). In medical systems, the IoT can also be employed.

The growing risk of the IoT is a series of severe issues, in particular in the field of privacy and safety.

 

Fig.1: Description image for IoT (Source: https://www.tutorialandexample.com/iot-tutorial/)

 

2. Sensors Data Management

Data management is the process of collecting and improving the whole accessible data. Different gadgets send enormous quantities and types of information from different applications. The management of all this IoT data requires creating and implementing architectures, rules, practices, and methods that satisfy the whole demands of the data life cycle.

Things are controlled by intelligent gadgets for task automation so that our time is saved. Smart objects can gather, transmit and comprehend information, and a tool to aggregate information and make conclusions, trends and patterns will be necessary.

 

Fig.2: Steps in IoT data management ( Source:

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How Dangerous is Cryptocurrency Mining Malware?

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The cryptocurrency market is one of the fastest-growing markets of today. Cryptocurrencies allow financial transactions without banks or other third parties, which means that transaction fees are low, and more money goes to business owners.

Cryptocurrency also makes it easier for people to send funds internationally because there’s no need for conversion rates, unlike traditional currencies like dollars and euros. The best part about cryptocurrencies? No government or institution controls them. They’re decentralized, meaning that they belong to anyone who uses them.

But not everything is good here, there is malware used to mine cryptocurrency illegally, and it is perilous. Read the whole article to understand more about the dangers of cryptocurrency mining malware.

What Is Cryptocurrency?

A cryptocurrency is a sort of digital money protected by cryptography. The first cryptocurrency was created in 2009, known as Bitcoin. Cryptocurrencies are based on distributed ledgers called blockchains, which are difficult to manipulate or hack due to the use of cryptography.

How Does Cryptocurrency Work?

Cryptocurrency uses cryptography to secure and verify transactions as well as to control the creation of new units. Cryptocurrencies are a subtype of alternative currencies or specifically digital currencies. Bitcoin is the 1st decentralized cryptocurrency that was developed in 2009.

Since then, numerous cryptocurrencies have been created. These are frequently called altcoins, as a blend of bitcoin alternatives. Moreover, cryptocurrencies use decentralized control instead of centralized electronic money/centralized banking systems.

What Is Cryptocurrency Mining?

Cryptocurrency mining is a complex process of solving cryptographic equations with the use of high-power devices. That entails solving complex mathematical problems and rewards miners with coins. While mining on a large scale is typically done through computers, it is also possible to perform it on devices like Android smartphones. 

There are three ways cryptocurrency mining can happen.

  • Mining on your own. Mining on your own means dedicating the time, high-power computing power, and…

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