Crypto mining malware targets cloud computing platforms

• More than 7000 vulnerabilities were discovered in 2019 so far, outweighing figures seen before 2017.
• Ransomware, botnets and backdoors are the tools of choice for the attackers.

Skybox Security revealed that the attacks on cloud computing platforms with crypto mining platform have shot up this year with hundreds of infected computing containers online. The report by the security company stated:

“Vulnerabilities in cloud containers have increased by 46 percent compared to the same period in 2018 and by 240 percent compared to 2017." 

However, the common attacks on desktop computers have dramatically dropped around the same time. The cybersecurity firm noted:

"Use of malicious cryptominers — cybercriminals’ overwhelming tool of choice in 2018 — has declined to just 15 percent of malware attacks, with ransomware, botnets and backdoors rising to fill the void. More than 7,000 new vulnerabilities were discovered in the first half of 2019 — that’s still significantly more than figures we’d see for an entire year pre-2017."

According to a Coindesk report, malware attacks like “Nansh0u campaign” are targeting enterprise networks including computer systems in IT firms, media and healthcare. Around 700 new computers have been estimated to become the target of such crypto-mining malware. Marina Kidron of Skybox said:

"Cloud technology and adoption has obviously skyrocketed, so it’s no surprise that vulnerabilities within cloud technology will increase. What is concerning, though, is that as these are published, the race is on for attackers to develop an exploit because launching a successful attack on a container could have much broader consequences. Compared to other technology, containers can be more numerous and quickly replicated. The attack footprint could expand rapidly, and number of victims may be extremely high."

Similar incidents that happened earlier include a crypto-mining malware that targeted vulnerable Linux servers to mine Monero, a privacy-focused digital currency.