Press Releases

McAfee Labs Sees Cryptocurrency Mining Surge Continue in Second Quarter

Published

5 years ago

September 25, 2018

London, United Kingdom, September 25, 2018 – McAfee, the device-to-cloud cybersecurity company, today released its McAfee Labs Threats Report: September 2018, examining the growth and trends of new cyber threats in Q2 2018. In the second quarter, McAfee Labs saw the surge in cryptomining malware growth that began in Q4 2017 continue through the first half of 2018. McAfee also saw the continued adaptation of the type of malware vulnerability exploits used in the WannaCry and NotPetya outbreaks of 2017.

Although less common than ransomware, cryptomining malware has quickly emerged as a factor on the threat landscape. After growing around 400,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017, new cryptomining malware samples grew a stunning 629% to more than 2.9 million samples in Q1 2018. This trend continued in Q2 as total samples grew by 86% with more than 2.5 million new samples. McAfee Labs has even identified what appear to be older malware such as ransomware newly retooled with mining capabilities.

“Cybercrime is a business, and market forces, such as the rise in cryptocurrency values, will continue to shape where adversaries focus their efforts,” said Raj Samani, McAfee Fellow, Chief Scientist at McAfee. “Exploiting cryptomining malware is simpler, more straightforward, and less risky than traditional cybercrime activities – causing these schemes to skyrocket in popularity over the last few months. In fact, cryptomining malware has quickly emerged as a major player on the threat landscape.

“Organisations need to remain vigilant to these threats, particularly in today’s cloud-first landscape when many companies are seeing a rapid increase in cloud applications and environments to secure. To keep crypto-criminals at bay, businesses must find the right combination of people, process and technology to effectively protect their assets, detect cryptomining threats and, when targeted, rapidly correct systems – across both cloud and on-premises. Removing siloed security teams and making sure that tools and systems can work together is the first step to gaining the upper hand.”

In some cases, crypto mining targets specific groups rather than a broad field of potential victims. One cryptomining malware strain has targeted gamers on a Russian forum by posing as a “mod” claiming to enhance popular games. Gamers were tricked into downloading the malicious software, which proceeded to use their computer resources for profit.

While cryptomining malware primarily targets PCs, other devices have become victims. For instance, Android phones in China and Korea have been exploited by the ADB.Miner malware into producing Monero cryptocurrency for its perpetrators.

“A few years ago, we wouldn’t think of internet routers, video-recording devices, and other Internet of Things devices as platforms for cryptomining because their CPU speeds were too insufficient to support such productivity,” said Christiaan Beek, Lead Scientist and Senior Principal Engineer with McAfee Advanced Threat Research. “Today, the tremendous volume of such devices online and their propensity for weak passwords present a very attractive platform for this activity. If I were a cybercriminal who owns a botnet of 100,000 such IoT devices, it would cost me next to nothing financially to produce enough cryptocurrency to create a new, profitable revenue stream.”

Vulnerability Exploit Malware

A year after the outbreaks of the WannaCry and NotPetya attacks, new malware samples specifically designed to exploit software vulnerabilities increased by 151% in Q2. McAfee saw the exploits from these two high-profile threats repurposed within new malware strains, and newly discovered vulnerability exploits similarly adapted to produce entirely new threats.

“WannaCry and NotPetya provided cybercriminals compelling examples of how malware could use vulnerability exploits to gain a foothold on systems and then quickly propagate across networks,” Beek continued. “It’s still surprising to see numerous vulnerabilities from as far back as 2014 used successfully to spearhead attacks, even when there have been patches available for months and years to deflect exploits. This is a discouraging testament to the fact that users and organisations still must do a better job of patching vulnerabilities when fixes become available.”

Windows 10 Cortana Vulnerabilities

McAfee Labs and the Advanced Threat Research team discovered a vulnerability in the Cortana voice assistant in Microsoft Windows 10. The flaw, for which Microsoft released a patch in June, could have allowed attackers to execute code from the locked screen of a fully patched Windows 10 machine (RS3 and RS4 before the June patch). McAfee addressed three vectors of research that have been combined by Microsoft and together represent CVE-2018-8140. McAfee submitted the vulnerability to Microsoft in April as part of McAfee’s responsible disclosure policy. (more)

Billing-Fraud Apps on Google Play

The McAfee Mobile Research team found a new billing-fraud campaign of at least 15 apps on Google Play. The new campaign demonstrates that cybercriminals keep finding new ways to steal money from victims using apps on official stores such as Google Play. The actors behind this campaign, the AsiaHitGroup Gang, has been active since at least late 2016 with the distribution of the fake-installer applications Sonvpay.A, which attempted to charge at least 20,000 victims from primarily Thailand and Malaysia for the download of copies of popular applications. One year later, in November 2017, the Sonypay.B campaign was discovered on Google Play. Sonvpay.B used IP address geolocation to confirm the country of the victim and added Russian victims to the billing fraud to increase its potential to steal money from unsuspecting users. (more)

Blockchain Security Threats

McAfee Advanced Threat Research identified top security threats to users and implementers of blockchain technologies. The researchers’ analysis found that phishing, malware, and implementation vulnerabilities are the primary attack vectors. (more)

Other Q2 2018 Threat Activity

In Q2 2018, McAfee Labs detected five new threats a second, including new threats showing notable technical developments that improve upon the latest successful technologies and tactics to outmanoeuvre their targets’ defences.

Ransomware. The total number of ransomware samples continues to grow, increasing 57% over the past four quarters. Although the appearance of new ransomware families has slowed overall in recent quarters, McAfee also saw established ransomware families spawn new variants. For instance, McAfee saw a dozen new variants of the Scarab ransomware family appear in the Q2 alone. These newcomers account for more than 50% of the total number of known Scarab variants identified since the family’s appearance in mid-2017.
Mobile malware. New mobile malware samples increased 27% in Q2; this is the second successive quarter of growth. McAfee customers in South America reported the highest rate of infection, at 14%. Total mobile malware grew 42% in the past four quarters.
JavaScript malware. A 204% increase in new samples suggests that hackers appear to have shifted to a new generation of JavaScript malware. After decreasing significantly over the last three quarters, JavaScript malware accounted for more than 7 million new samples, a record high, and up from around 2 million in Q1.
LNK malware. While PowerShell has been active among fileless malware developers in recent previous quarters, new samples slowed to 15% growth. But new LNK malware continues to grow, as cybercriminals are increasingly using .lnk shortcuts to surreptitiously deliver malicious PowerShell scripts and other malware. Total samples in the category have increased 489% over the past four quarters.
Spam botnets. The Gamut spam botnet outpaced all others in Q2. Most notably, it pushed high volumes of “Canada Revenue Agency” phishing scams. Notable recent campaigns were related to bogus employment offers that are commonly used as a “money mule” recruitment tactic.

For more information on these threat trends and statistics, please visit: McAfee Labs Threats Report: September 2018 (Infographic)

Press Releases

ND Labs Launches Crypto Exchange Software Development

Published

5 months ago

January 20, 2023

Guest Contributor

ND Labs, an international blockchain consulting and development company with offices in Poland and the United States, has recently announced the launch of crypto exchange development services.

ND Labs understands that cryptocurrencies are gaining even more popularity and predict their mass adoption in the future. Thus, the company offers full-cycle development services to IT businesses and non-IT enterprises from various industries, including retail, construction, oil & gas, etc.

Dmitry Khanevich, co-founder and CEO of ND Labs, commented on the news:

“Launching a crypto exchange is a good business idea. First, there is a growing demand for such platforms as digital currencies are becoming more widely used. Second, they can generate constant profit by charging fees for each transaction. Third, they are relatively easy to set up and maintain. Finally, they offer lots of flexibility, which makes them ideal for businesses of all sizes. If you lack the necessary skills or knowledge to build a crypto exchange, that’s where our blockchain expertise will be helpful.”

What is a crypto exchange?

A crypto exchange is a trading platform that allows users to buy and sell digital assets in a peer-to-peer manner, which means there is no third party involved. For instance, users can buy cryptocurrencies for fiat money and then trade them.

How to develop a crypto exchange platform?

- Choose the platform type. It can be a crypto trading app as well as a centralized, decentralized, or hybrid cryptocurrency exchange.
- Build key features. They include user authorization and verification, a trading engine, a crypto wallet, an intuitive user interface, and market and liquidity provider integration.
- Add nice-to-have and advanced features. They are manageable user profiles, portfolio tracking, push notifications, loyalty programs, a knowledge base, data analytics, NFT trading abilities, automated strategies, etc.
- Meet regulatory compliance. Depending on the jurisdiction you are going to work in, you will have to comply with GDPR, KYC, KYT, AML, and other requirements.

Develop a crypto exchange platform.

About ND Labs

ND Labs is an international company that offers blockchain consulting and development services. They build blockchain-powered solutions for businesses of all sizes from various industries, such as logistics, real estate, insurance, etc. The company’s team consists of experienced blockchain professionals who focus on strategic outcomes and help clients generate long-term profits.

Contact

For more details and updates, visit:

Website: www.ndlabs.dev
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ndlabs.dev
Instagram: www.instagram.com/ndlabs.dev/
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/ndlabs-dev/
Twitter: twitter.com/ndlabsdev

Disclaimer: This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to any company, product, or service mentioned in this article. BitcoinAfrica.io is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, product, or service mentioned in this post.

Press Releases

Get Lucky Tickets for World Cup Bets on 1xBit

Published

7 months ago

November 25, 2022

Guest Contributor

The long-awaited World Cup 2022 is here, bringing many opportunities to win big. Are you excited about seeing your favorite players on the pitch? Then the World Cup is an opportunity not just to do that but also to win big from your passion.

Participating in 1xBit’s Ticket Rush is all you need to have a fun World Cup experience. This tournament offers you the avenue to stay on top of the game, enjoying fascinating matches and securing impressive prizes.

1xBit 1xBit has created Ticket Rush with numerous fanciful prizes that could change your entire gambling experience. With multiple prize draws designed to select many winners, you have a chance at winning big. The prize pool is 3 BTC, with numerous winners per category.

To participate in the offer, you must log in or register on 1xBit. Proceed to the offer page, click “Take part,” and bet on World Cup 2022!

Participants collect tickets for bets on World Cup 2022 matches. There are three ticket categories:

Individual match tickets – for bets on any World Cup matches
Supporter tickets – for bets on the picked 8 countries during the group stage
Play-off tickets – for bets on play-off matches

For the Individual match tickets prizes, the 1st place winner will emerge with 500 mBTC. The first-place winner in the Supporters’ tickets prize draw goes home with 10 mBTC, while the first-place winner in the Play-off tickets prize draw will win 250 mBTC.

1xBit: Your Best Bet

Ticket Rush is one of the many tournaments designed by 1xBit to help players profit from their passion while enjoying the World Cup. With 1xBit, you can rest assured about sumptuous prizes that make your gambling experience worthwhile.

As the fastest and leading crypto sportsbook, 1xBit is passionate about rewarding players’ efforts in an exciting fashion. The platform provides its users with numerous benefits to maximize the crypto gambling space.

You can make bets on 1xBit using over 40 supported cryptocurrencies. This crypto adoption eliminates the need for fiat currency. It removes the stress of first converting your cryptocurrency to fiat before depositing it in a sportsbook to bet on your favorite games.

Instead, you can utilize these currencies directly, allowing you to maximize their value without losing any of it to conversion fees. Even more, 1xBit is constantly looking for relevant partnerships and new coins to add.

You also enjoy instant payouts with zero fees. This allows you to enjoy your winnings without adversely affecting the platform’s fee structure. 1xBit also provides educational blogs on crypto gambling to help you get started with the necessary tips to navigate the field. Whether a beginner or a veteran, 1xBit covers all you require.

Additionally, 1xBit offers users a Welcome Bonus of up to 7 BTC following their first 4 deposits – it gives you the required jumpstart to experience the platform and play your favorite games.

Final Thoughts

All roads lead to Qatar for the 2022 World Cup, and you don’t want to miss out on any match. With the Ticket Rush tournament, you can spice up your experience and win crypto!

Disclaimer: This is a press release. Readers should do their own due diligence before taking any actions related to any company, product, or service mentioned in this article. BitcoinAfrica.io is not responsible, directly or indirectly, for any loss or damage caused by or in connection with the use of or reliance on any content, product, or service mentioned in this post.

Press Releases

Crypto Lists Announce Bitcoin Maximalist as Head of Content

Published

8 months ago

October 27, 2022

Guest Contributor

CryptoLists.com is delighted to announce the arrival of the new Head of Content, Tom White.

Tom is now a key member of the speedily growing crypto info site, with ambitions to take the content up a level and define and refine the tone of voice. A keen follower of crypto and Bitcoin, in particular on a personal level, he’s well acquainted with blockchain and DeFi technology and has been investing in digital assets for some time.

In other news, Crypto Lists are also pleased to announce an updated mission statement and a new slogan: Crypto Done Smarter.

As a native English speaker, Tom is well-positioned to take over the tone of voice and editorial oversight of the website, which was founded by two Scandinavians. Alongside this, Tom’s main focus will be to ensure that fresh and informative news articles are released even more frequently, and reviews of new coins and brokers are published swiftly.

Tom White – A Bitcoin Maximalist?

While open to the potential of various altcoins, as somewhat of a Bitcoin Maximalist, Tom sees Bitcoin as digital gold of the new economy. A keen chart-watcher, he’s excited about the next halving event in 2024 and seeing how high BTC can go during the next bull run. A bull run where he believes incredible new ATHs will be reached. A full review of Bitcoin with breaking news, FAQ, historical background, and the most recent updates can be found at https://www.cryptolists.com/coins/btc/.

Things Tom will oversee

During his first week at the company, Tom has covered subjects surrounding changes within the traditional banking sector in regard to crypto, as well as a multitude of other topics. Being such a big advocate of Bitcoin and its potentially revolutionary capabilities, a topic he found especially interesting is how to survive on Bitcoin. He recently published a piece about Arnhem, a Dutch town that some call the world’s only Bitcoin city. Alongside such specific topics, he will be making sure that the Crypto Lists brand voice is consistent across both the website and all externally facing written comms.

Upcoming events in Africa

Tom will also write articles and releases about recent and upcoming Bitcoin and crypto events. In the near term, one such event is the Ghana DeFi Summit 2022.

Crypto Lists – Crypto Done Smarter

Tom also brought his creative mind to the forefront when brainstorming the new brand mission alongside the wider team. Crypto Lists had been searching for a new slogan, that is both accurate, descriptive, as well as evergreen – taking into consideration the future developments and growth of the company. Along with the senior leadership, a general consensus was reached: Crypto Done Smarter.

Why smarter? Well, Crypto Lists is there to help people make more informed decisions. The entire ecosystem of the site revolves around educating people on the crypto space, and the coins, platforms, brokers, exchanges and at the same time doing reviews of blockchains that compose it. In a nutshell, Crypto Lists is a site where you learn to make smarter decisions in the crypto space.