When it comes down to the implementation of cybersecurity within enterprises, one of the biggest obstacles that the modern IT environment presents is fundamentally rooted in the wide variety of threats that enterprises face today. When the time comes in making a significant investment in cybersecurity while keeping in mind that specific financial allotments have to be made within the budget, in accordance with how prioritized the threat is. Typically what happens is that the cybersecurity teams tend to focus all of their attention, and resources on the more sensationalized attacks, which creates several loopholes within an organization’s cybersecurity infrastructure.
Although there isn’t anything inherently wrong with concentrating on the more popular threats and vulnerabilities, prioritizing and keeping an eye out for certain types of attacks, provides an ample amount of opportunities to cybercriminals, since many of the more “silent” threats get passed under the radar. A prominent example of this type of attack is cryptojacking, which continues to wreak a monumental amount of damage before being detected by an organization’s security teams.
Additionally, another reason why enterprises need to focus on cryptojacking, in particular, is the fact that multiple industry studies indicate that cryptojacking is the fastest-growing type of cyber incident, with some reports bringing forth new information that states that cryptojacking attacks have tripled since 2017.
As cybersecurity specialists sit down to analyze the reason behind cryptojacking rates being on the rise, a prevalent cause behind the spiking cryptojacking rates is the fact that cybercriminals are growing increasingly sophisticated with the methods that they employ to wreak damage on organizations. With cryptojacking, hackers actually get the best of both worlds, since they gain access to a stealthy mode of attacks, along with the luxury of enjoying fast and lucrative payouts.
Moreover, another unprecedented reason behind the growing numbers of cryptojacking attacks is that, unlike the other types of cyberattacks at the disposal of hackers, cryptojacking provides an almost instantaneous and direct path through which cybercriminals can gain access to a monumental amount of money. As the name suggests, since cryptojacking mines cryptocurrency- the fluctuating value of cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin provides well-timed hackers with the perfect window to earn an even higher level of money than what they originally intended.
In order to aid our readers in the ever-present combat against cybercriminals, we’ve compiled an article that delves deep into the many intricacies of a cryptojacking attack. However, before we can get into the monumental impact that a cryptojacking attack has on a business, we’d like to bring our readers up to terms with what cryptojacking is and the tell-tale signs to look for that determine whether an organization has been hit by a cryptojacking attack.
What is a Cryptojacking Attack and How Can Organizations Detect It?
In order to gain a vital understanding of what a cryptojacking attack implies, we’d like to start by explaining to our readers what a typical cryptojacking incident implies. The goal of a typical cryptojacking attack is to exploit enough devices on a network and then to pool their processing power, which gives rise to the formulation of a network through which hackers can effectively generate income throughout a certain period of time.
Furthermore, the strategy we’ve mentioned above allows hackers to launch sophisticated cryptojacking attacks discreetly since only a small amount of power is directly being utilized from a single device, which makes it almost impossible for network administrators to detect whether or not anything fishy is going on. Once the cybercriminal gains entry within an organization’s network, the attacker pools together multiple devices, which results in a steady influx of income being generated from these cryptojacking networks to hackers. Usually, cybercriminals are more likely to target larger organizations, since it results in the creation of larger cryptojacking networks, which in turn generates a monumental number of cryptocurrency for the hackers. Moreover, once access is established into a large business or enterprise, hackers can easily create a cryptojacking network by exploiting an arsenal of devices connected to the network.
It should also be mentioned, that one of the biggest reasons as to why a cryptojacking attack is so hard to control and detect, is because the identification and flagging of cryptojacked devices is a rather tiresome task, that requires a lot of time, money and energy investment from an organization that’s already been exploited by cybercriminals. Perhaps even more troubling is the fact, that in some instances, the cryptojacking malware might be situated in a legitimate version of the software, which makes it less likely for security scans to identify the cryptojacking attack. Having said that, however, organizations should instruct their employees to look out for and report some tell-tale signs of a cryptojacking attack, which include the sudden slowing-down of devices, or a spike in complaints about computer performance.
If left undetected, a cryptojacking attack could have some severe consequences on an organization’s security and business functions, some of which include:
- Productivity in decline: Arguably one of the most significant consequences of a cryptojacking attack, the productivity of an organization is in a constant state of decline because of the cryptojacking malware. Owing to the discreet nature of a cryptojacking attack, employees might end up wasting a lot of time trying to figure out the root cause of their problem, or waiting for the IT department to fix their problem.
- IT and energy drain: As we’ve mentioned above, a cryptojacking incident causes an immediate spike in the number of complaints being made to the IT department, which sabotages the productivity of the IT department as well. Not only does a cryptojacking attack cause an organization to drain itself of valuable energy, but it also takes the attention of the IT department away from more pressing matters.
- Business prone to be a target for more threats: When we take into account the “silent killer” nature of a cryptojacking attack, it also makes an enterprise prone to be a target for an arsenal of newer, more dangerous threats. In addition to siphoning off energy resources, and slowing computer performance, and decreasing productivity, a cryptojacking incident also exposes victims to access points, that can further be utilized for other types of cyberattacks, such as ransomware.
How Can You Avoid a Cryptojacking Attack?
Fortunately for enterprises all over the globe, there are still some ways through which a cryptojacking attack can be prevented. Right off the bat, organizations need to realize that a cryptojacking incident is often a warning shot, that symbolizes that an enterprise’s security isn’t as up to the mark as it should be.
One of the most crucial steps that organizations can take to ensure that they keep cryptojacking attacks at bay is to utilize multi-factor authentication, along with encouraging employees to utilize unique passwords. Companies need to implement continuous monitoring on their networks as well, as well as installing safeguards in place to ensure that any software being utilized by the company is sourced from a legitimate and authentic source, and is fully patched. When it comes to the constant monitoring, we’d suggest that organizations take into account the possibility of setting up a dedicated security team that deals with surveying, remediating, along with updating privacy and security safeguards. Furthermore, according to VPN experts, start using a VPN as it not only hides the IP address but also provides protection against cryptojacking malware.
Conclusion
The sudden spike in cryptojacking attacks should always be taken, by organizations and network administrators, alike as a wake-up call to bring the cybersecurity measures up to the mark. It should also be mentioned, that if it weren’t for the dire state of cybersecurity implementation within organizations today, we wouldn’t have felt the need to write this article at all!