Rising prices will encourage 'cryptojacking' crime

Subject

Crypto ming and jacking

Significance

Cryptocurrencies are produced through a process called 'mining'. 'Miners' compete to solve a mathematical problem to release a new block of cryptocoins. Mining cryptocurrency is lucrative. The leading such coin, bitcoin, is currently worth 9,000 dollars and each successful mining releases 12.5 bitcoins, currently worth over 100,000 dollars. Computing requirements are extremely energy-intensive, favouring cheap locations and encouraging ‘cryptojacking’: infecting people’s computer systems to mine in the background. Israeli cyber security company Check Point reported that by mid-February eight million cryptojacking attacks occurred weekly -- from zero through much of 2017.

Impacts

• Illicit crypto mining will flourish as it is far less obtrusive than ransomware; mostly a barely noticeable amount of power is stolen.
• More regulation is likely to require more monitoring and identification -- this could curb the attraction of mining cryptocurrencies.
• Cryptocurrency malware will increasingly infect smart phones -- incidences have seen the energy-intensity explode phone batteries.
• 'Mining pools' will proliferate, in which multiple devices pool resources to solve calculations and then share the rewards.