Two Russians Prosecuted for Mining Crypto on Government Computers

The Russian authorities have prosecuted two citizens of the country for illegally mining digital currencies on computers of state organizations.

Reported by local media outlet TASS on Monday, the two perpetrators were targeting computer hardware of state organizations to mine Cryptocurrencies Cryptocurrencies By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw By using cryptography, virtual currencies, known as cryptocurrencies, are nearly counterfeit-proof digital currencies that are built on blockchain technology. Comprised of decentralized networks, blockchain technology is not overseen by a central authority.Therefore, cryptocurrencies function in a decentralized nature which theoretically makes them immune to government interference. The term, cryptocurrency derives from the origin of the encryption techniques that are employed to secure the netw Read this Term using web browsers.

Though the report did not reveal the identity of the perpetrators, it detailed that one of the charged is is a resident of Kurgan, who used almost a whole botnet in various regions of the country, while, in the second case, a criminal case was initiated on the fact of using the site of JSC Rostovvodokanal for mining.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Nikolay Murashov, deputy director of the National Coordination Center for Computer Incidents, said: “In Russia, there have been two cases recently when people were brought to criminal responsibility for getting access to computers [of state organizations] and using them to mine cryptocurrencies.”

A profitable illegal activity

He also pointed out that the high electricity cost and the ability to mine digital currencies using normal computers are behind the rising number of illegal cryptocurrency mining activities.

In addition, he also pointed out the excessive utilization of processing power, causing degradation of the performance of the computers, resulting in a massive loss of affected businesses.

“Up to 80% of the computer’s free power can be used to generate virtual coins, and a legitimate user may not even know about it,” Murashov added.

Due to the associated profits, Cryptojacking Cryptojacking Cryptojacking is defined as the unauthorized use of an individual’s computer to mine cryptocurrency. Hackers accomplish this feat through several means.This includes obtaining access via malicious links in an email that loads crypto mining code on the computer, or by infecting a website or online ad with JavaScript code that auto-executes once loaded in the victim’s browser.Consequently, this crypto-mining code is able to work out of sight of unsuspecting victims, often without notice. The only Cryptojacking is defined as the unauthorized use of an individual’s computer to mine cryptocurrency. Hackers accomplish this feat through several means.This includes obtaining access via malicious links in an email that loads crypto mining code on the computer, or by infecting a website or online ad with JavaScript code that auto-executes once loaded in the victim’s browser.Consequently, this crypto-mining code is able to work out of sight of unsuspecting victims, often without notice. The only Read this Term has become very popular among hackers, and they are evolving tactics to deceive programs to detect their activities. Finance Magnates recently reported that hackers are using process hollowing techniques to hide crypto mining activities on victims' computers. Meanwhile, another popular botnet malware - Stantinko - also turned to crypto mining and is using YouTube to evade detection.