Hackers use advertising on Youtube for the cryptocurrency mining

Recently it was discovered that hackers trying to take over the computers for cryptocurrency mining now use commercials on YouTube for mining at the expense of viewers. Nowadays, cryptocurrency mining can become a highly profitable enterprise, and hackers try to maximize their profits. According to Ars Technica, many Internet users on social networks complained that their antivirus software detected malicious software for mining cryptocurrency when they visited YouTube. Even after users switched to another browser, the antivirus program again displayed a warning when visiting YouTube.

 Security researchers from Trend Micro said that the use of commercials on YouTube for the cryptocurrency has increased more than threefold.

Computer security experts say that crypto invaders used Google DoubleClick to display ads to YouTube visitors in countries such as Japan, France, Taiwan, Italy and Spain. The malicious program is written in JavaScript, and then built into advertising for the purpose of mining the Monero. Basically, one of the most popular solutions for using users browsers for the purposes of mining - Coinhive - is used for this.

In other cases, a hidden JavaScript script is built into YouTube advertisements. This malware frees the attackers of 30% of the commission they pay Coinhive. Both scripts are programmed to consume up to 80% of the power of the user's computer. This leads to system failure or slow operation. Independent researcher Troy Mursch said:

"YouTube was likely targeted because users are typically on the site for an extended period of time. This is a prime target for Cryptojacking malware, because the longer the users are mining for cryptocurrency the more money is made."

by Author

  Worse, these cryptocurrency mining programs are sometimes accompanied by advertisements for counterfeit antivirus programs that install even more malware on the computer. In a letter from a Google representative, the company said that they discovered a new malicious program and blocked access to their platforms to those who use it:

"Mining cryptocurrency through ads is a relatively new form of abuse that violates our policies and one that we've been monitoring actively. We enforce our policies through multi-layered detection system across our platforms which we update as new threats emerge. In this case, the ads were blocked in less than two hours and the malicious actors were quickly removed from our platforms."

by Author

 However, Google's statement is somewhat at odds with the comments of Trend Micro, whose representatives claim that the advertisement was blocked not in two hours. According to their estimates, Monero's mining by means of an advertisement lasted about a week.

Earlier, viruses for mining cryptocurrencies were mainly based on torrent trackers, but now attackers even penetrated to such major sites as YouTube, the trust of users to which is much higher.