11% of UAE Corporate Crypto Miners Victims of ‘Cryptojacking’ This Year

Of all corporate users affected by crypto miners in the META region, 11% are from the UAE. Of all consumers affected by crypto miners in the META region, 6% also came from the UAE. Cybercriminals use the processing power of victims’ computers to mine cryptocurrencies, earning up to $40.500 (2 BTC) per month.

“Using cryptominers to make money is lucrative for cybercriminals – they don’t pay for equipment or electricity, which is quite expensive in 2022. They install mining software on victims’ computers to It does not require much technical expertise,” Kaspersky researchers said.

“While these aren’t the best days for the cryptocurrency industry, the topic is in the spotlight throughout the year, so it’s no surprise that malicious actors are looking to profit from these trends,” said Kaspersky security expert Andrey Ivanov.

“The silver lining is that while the number of threats is increasing, the number of users encountering miners has not changed significantly. This is why it is imperative to increase awareness of the first signs of malware being downloaded to your computer. You also need to install solid security solutions to prevent attacks at an early stage,” he added.

An attacker would have to know how to create a miner using open source code or where to buy it. If crypto-mining malware is successfully installed on a victim’s computer, it provides its operators with a steady stream of income. This year has seen a sharp increase in new modifications to cryptominers.

In the first three quarters of 2022, expert analysis identified 215,843 new miners, more than double the number of last year. The majority of analyzed miner samples (48%) surreptitiously mine Monero (XMR) currency from the victim’s computer.

This currency is known for its advanced technology that anonymizes transaction data for maximum privacy. Those monitoring it cannot decipher the addresses, transaction amounts, balances, or transaction histories of transacting Monero — all of which are highly attractive to cybercriminals.

Most commonly, attackers distribute miners through malicious files disguised as pirated content (movies, music, games, and software). At the same time, unpatched vulnerabilities pose a serious challenge to users and at the same time an enticing lure for cybercriminals who exploit these vulnerabilities to spread them to miners.