Cryptocurrencies may be losing value against the dollar right now, but they are still a highly desirable asset for cybercriminals around the world.
According to a new report from Microsoft, the popularity of cryptojacking remains relatively high and new malware variants with advanced features and new ways to avoid detection are arriving.
In a blog post (opens in a new tab), Microsoft explained that it detects cryptojackers on "hundreds of thousands" of endpoints each month through its built-in Windows antivirus service.
destination servers
Cryptojackers are a type of malware that mines specific cryptocurrencies and sends the coins to a wallet owned by hackers. The malware will not destroy the device it infects and is not interested in stealing sensitive data from the victim, but it will consume much of the device's computing power.
For this reason, cryptojacking operators are generally not interested in consumer devices, but instead have their sights set on servers and virtual machines, which are generally more powerful and capable of mining more tokens, compared to ordinary PCs and laptops.
Among the most popular cryptojackers is XMRig, a malware that mines the Monero (XMR) token. Monero is a relatively old cryptocurrency, which promises complete anonymity to its users and as such is extremely popular with scammers and people who are into illegal trading.
Bitcoin, along with other cryptocurrencies, has been falling all year. After peaking at around €68,000 in November last year, the world's most popular cryptocurrency fell to around €17,000, before recovering to the current €21,000.
Despite the unfavorable outlook at the moment, cybercriminals continue to develop cryptojackers. Microsoft says the latter have become stealthier, "taking advantage of live off-the-ground binaries (LOLBins) to evade detection."
However, most antivirus solutions should be able to detect them. Microsoft claims that it is capable of detecting cryptojacking by, among other things, analyzing CPU signals for patterns modeled from cryptojacking activity.