Cryptocurrency Malware Rises by 4000%, According to McAfee
Malware has always been a threat ever since computers entered homes. For the longest time, malware has been a nuisance. It has caused everything from installing unwanted programs to creating a significant decrease in system performance. But as of late, malware targeting computers for crypto-mining has been on the rise.
According to McAfee Antivirus, the increase has been as high as 4000% in 2018. This year’s McAfee Labs Threat Report outlines this rapid growth. The report shows that this activity saw its rise right at the end of last year and continued to spike during the first half of this year. There was a momentary lapse in the following months, but things have since worsened.
This sudden activity can be attributed to the rise in popularity of cryptocurrency and its rising prices. The technology allows for large sums of money to exchange hands without a paper trail. This is an inviting prospect for cybercriminals that wish to remain anonymous.
These crypto-criminals have been sneaking their malware among popular applications like Discord, Slack, and Telegram. Once successfully infected, they can use up the host computer’s resource to mine cryptocurrency. They can then receive this cryptocurrency without any evidence leading back to them.
McAfee isn’t the only company to report on this. The Russian antivirus company Kaspersky Labs has been reporting similar findings. The firm reported 13.8 million cases of cryptocurrency-related malware. Put into perspective, just last year, the report for the same situation only had 3.5 million cases.
Clearly, something has changed and it’s not for the best. The rise seems consistent with the peak of cryptocurrency prices last year. Naturally, this garnered a fair bit of news and media to report on this new commodity. As the layperson learned more about the new world of cryptos, so did the cybercriminals and it only helped to popularize the crime.
As we head toward an uncertain and hazy future, only one thing remains clear: where there’s opportunity, there’s crime.