On a global scale, about 415,000 routers could be affected by cryptojacking (an act, in which attackers use the victim’s computing power to mine cryptocurrencies), according to security researcher VriesHD.
Just three different ways to abuse vulnerable Mikrotik routers to try to mine cryptocurrencies. Total combined 415 thousand results. Many more ways active. pic.twitter.com/u01HEr2UQy
— Kira 2.0 (@VriesHd) December 2, 2018
While attackers used to favor CoinHive – a mining software for privacy-coin Monero – there has been a significant shift to other mining software, such as Omine, VriesHD told The Next Web.
Malicious parties have started a series of cryptojacking attacks against MikroTik in August when cybersecurity experts have discovered over 200,000 devices infected by the stealth mining malware, according to the report.
Fortunately, it’s possible to prevent cryptojacking with a few security tips and tricks. In case a router gets infected (you can try this router checker by cybersecurity giant F-Secure), one should immediately install the latest firmware update for the router.
Meanwhile, VriesHD stressed that internet service providers (ISPs) have to join this battle, too.
I would like to add that it would be great if some ISP's would take their responsibility like some of their colleagues/competitors did and battle/fix this from a higher level as well. https://t.co/78NHeBINxv
— Kira 2.0 (@VriesHd) December 3, 2018
