As mentioned yesterday in an Interpol report, efforts in Southeast Asia to combat cryptojacking are ongoing and actually improving, managing to reduce the number of infected devices in all regions.
The cryptojacking technique involves installing malicious code on victims’ terminals without their knowledge, and besides the damage caused by data loss, it also leads to the execution of software that mines cryptocurrencies. Typically, Monero (XMR) is mined, which is preferred due to its greater privacy. Using malware installed on the victims’ computers without their knowledge, miners are able to extract cryptocurrencies by stealing power from devices they do not own.Â
From the data collected by Interpol, it appears that criminals have exploited a vulnerability in MikroTik routers to access the victims’ terminals, and over 20,000 infected routers were found during 2019, almost 18% of all routers in the region.
The thorough monitoring has been made possible partly thanks to the support of private entities. Without their help it would not have been possible to combat this phenomenon, as reiterated by the director of the cybercrime department of Interpol, Craig Jones:
“When faced with emerging cybercrimes like cryptojacking, the importance of strong partnerships between police and the cybersecurity industry cannot be overstated. By combining the expertise and data on cyberthreats held by the private sector with the investigative capabilities of law enforcement, we can best protect our communities from all forms of cybercrime”.
Thanks to the Goldfish Alpha operation, a higher level of security and greater awareness of the risk of this type of attack has been achieved, especially in those areas that cannot rely on cutting-edge technological expertise for dealing with cryptojacking attacks.
The phenomenon can actually be prevented thanks to special plug-ins or with the conventional antivirus programs that guarantee protection to computer devices.Â
