Android the widely used operating system for smart devices, developed by the tech giant Google is not as secure as you think. Though the earlier reports have already deemed it unsecure as compared to Windows and iOS, yet the new study by Malwarebytes has revealed another worrying factor.
The crypto-jacking plague is rising ever since the cryptos have gone mainstream and now even the Govt websites are being used by hackers to mine cryptocurrency. According to Malwarebytes a popular anti-malware software firm, a “drive-by” mining campaign has redirected millions of Android users to a website that hijacked their phone processors for mining cryptocurrency Monero.
The exact trigger is not clear at this stage, yet the researchers believe that infected apps with malicious ads will apparently drive people to the pages. The site would claim that you were showing “suspicious” web activity and tell you that it was mining until you entered a CAPTCHA code to make it stop.
New Monero-Mining Malware Targets Android Devices, Thousands Infected https://t.co/EGt3epkgfm via → https://t.co/JoF6GY890A
#cointelegraph pic.twitter.com/6Krv9HNQ1H
— Trading Ideas (@AlertTrade) February 7, 2018
Malwarebytes found several identical domains, all of which use the same CAPTCHA code. The first was registered in November 2017, while the latest of the five domains they found (of which there may be many more) was registered less than a month ago. According to the team of Malwarebytes,
“Forced cryptomining is now also affecting mobile phones and tablets en masse—not only via Trojanized apps but also via redirects and pop-unders.”
Concludingly, as long as cryptocurrency will keep following their epic bull run, you’re bound to see someone hoping to make a few coins at your expense.
Image Source: CoinTelegraph
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