Adylkuzz malware mines Monero to generate revenue

A new form of malware is targeting innocent victims in order to mine cryptocurrency for its creators.

Adylkuzz, which targets the Monero cryptocurrency, stays hidden within an infected machine, and does not give visual warnings or interfere with users’ files.

Security firm Bitdefender, which first spotted the malware, says the best way to protect yourself is to keep your operating system up to date, to disable the Server Message Block service on the computer if patching is impossible, and back up any and all data to offline hard drives.

Anyone can create cryptocurrency through a process called mining. It is not really effective as it’s slow and requires a powerful computer. But if thousands, tens or even hundreds of thousands of computers mined cryptocurrency, together they could gather quite a large sum.

"Ransomware and cryptocurrency miners are the most accessible threats one can build," says Bogdan Botezatu, senior e-threat analyst at Bitdefender.

"Computers in public institutions, hospitals and other care facilities are usually rarely updated. If they were not hit by ransomware, these computers will stay vulnerable against the EternalBlue exploit for as long as they remain un-patched. Complex threats can be built upon it, from commercial grade malware to more persistent attacks aimed at cyber-espionage, among others."

Published under license from ITProPortal.com, a Future plc Publication. All rights reserved.

Photo Credit: vectorfusionart/Shutterstock