The bitcoin business has reached unprecedented heights last year and has maintained its momentum until today. Everyone wanted to get a piece of these digital currencies that prices have soared to the ludicrously high prices that it still has right now. However, bitcoin mining is not that easy and it requires powerful computers in order to do so. Knowing how resourceful miners and hackers are, it no longer comes as a surprise that they were able to hack three computer servers at the University of Wisconsin to help them run their bitcoin mining malware. Cybersecurity is at an all-time high now that there have been various reports of miners hacking different sites and servers so they can anonymously mine these digital currencies while stealing computer power from these big brands and institutions.
Mining bitcoins require too much computer power in order for them to complete and verify a blockchain or transaction record and get bitcoins from it after. With the growing popularity of digital currencies such as bitcoin and other alternative currencies, we should all be wary of more hacking attacks in all forms especially when browsing the web as these miners will do what it takes to make use of your device in their mining operation. Servers are prime targets as they can provide higher computing power than individual devices and consequently help spread the malware especially if individual users connect to these servers on a daily basis.
Computer servers at three UW System schools were accessed by bitcoin miners in December, a spokeswoman confirmed to News 3 on Thursday.Â
Software to “mine” for the virtual currency bitcoin was found on computer servers at UW-Madison, UW-Stout and UW-Superior, according to UW System director of communications Stephanie Marquis. Â
The software requires powerful computers, and a nationwide alert was issued Jan. 5 that noted “numerous reports from university and research institutions” that attackers were attempting to run “bitcoin mining malware.”
And it does not stop there even if servers remove this malware or botnets because they just look for another vulnerable server or device to hack and install more mining tools, especially on servers owned and ran by big organizations and businesses. And they’re not just mining bitcoins but relatively newer currencies such as zCash and Monero because they are more difficult to trace by law enforcement and thus more attractive to cybercriminals who makes use of these digital tenders the most than us average people.
Mecklenburg County government has been paralyzed by an unknown computer hacker after a county employee unknowingly opened an email attachment Monday that unleashed spyware and a worm into the county’s computer system.
County manager Dena Diorio said Tuesday night that the hacker has essentially frozen the county’s electronic files. The hacker is seeking $23,000 for an encryption key that would release the files.
The hacker’s deadline: 1 p.m. Wednesday.
(Via: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/local/article188227084.html)
Any device or server is at risk now whether it is used privately or in public. Countless reports on computer and server hacking proliferate in the web these days and they do so through various ways such as phishing. If you don’t trust where an email came from, avoid opening them or risk introducing a headache-inducing malware that will make your device mine bitcoins in a frenzy from spyware and worms working its way around your computer system. You know some as ransomware where the hackers will demand a ransom often in the form of bitcoins like what the Mecklenburg County government went through after an employee opened a random email that unleashed the malware havoc that surely left everyone in the office at a standstill as their devices are now infected of these high-tech worms.
Instances like this will often leave your device useless, hence requiring you professional services like https://www.harddriverecovery.org/raid/ in order to get your lost/stolen files back and establish a semblance of normalcy once more in your office or organization.