Kaspersky Lab Says Cryptojacking Cases Have Risen 400% in 2018

Did you know there have been 13 million cryptojacking incidents in 2018? Russian cyber-security firm Kaspersky Lab has released data that cryptojacking cases have gone through the roof rising 400% this year alone.

Crypto-crime has been one of the most publicized issues in the financial world this year as the popularity of digital currencies has reached an all-time high over the past 12 months.

Malicious Cryptojacking Problems in 2018

Although many crypto-fanatics might well say that the major issue the industry has faced this year lays with the wild fluctuations of crypto prices, Kaspersky Lab would beg to differ.

The Russian cybersecurity and anti-virus firm Kaspersky Lab is based in Moscow and has been the source of lots of meaty information this year in regards to crypto-crimes, and most notably, the upsurge in cryptojacking. The company has revealed that cases of cryptojacking have reached a gargantuan 13 million in 2018, which is up 400% on last year’s total of 3.5 million.

Cryptojacking is a term used to describe malicious activity in regards to cryptocurrency mining. Cryptojackers hijack the computers of crypto users and divert the funds to their own wallets. One of the most alarming stats is that the attacks in the Middle East and Africa have risen fourfold on this time last year.

Using Malware to Jack Crypto

Carjacking used to be the jacking avenue of choice for criminals, but the world is changing and so is theft. Cryptojackers are utilizing malware scripts to access people’s computers to mine cryptocurrencies. Monero (XMR) is one of the main digital currencies that is currently being targeted and jacked by crypto-criminals.

The malware runs quietly on a user’s PC so they don’t even know it’s happening. After a while, the script can play havoc on a PC’s CPU power making the system run slowly, and sometimes even damaging the computer and overloading the processor.

We reported earlier this June that Kaspersky Lab was concerned that cybercriminals were moving from ransomware to cryptojacking, which was one of the main reasons why ransomware attacks had drastically dropped.

As the value of cryptocurrencies had risen at the back-end of 2017 and still remained relatively high for the first 8-months fo the year, cybercriminals began focusing more on cryptojacking and crypto-related crime.

The alarming figures that 13 million cryptojacking incidents have taken place in 2018 is a massive cause for concern and needs to be dealt with in rapid succession. Kaspersky Lab has once again done a great job informing the industry in regards to the problems we now face.

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