Hooked-in Sweden is becoming a haven for cryptojackers siphoning off capacity and energy to mine for digital currencies.
The number of such attacks surged an estimated 10,100 percent in the biggest Nordic economy in the fourth quarter of last year, about double the jump globally, according to Symantec Corp’s 2018 Internet Security Threat Report.
And the thing is, it is not even illegal.
“Cryptojacking, where you install a program without my permission and steal capacity, is very impolite,” said Ola Rehnberg, head of Nordic Enterprise Security at Symantec. “But not a crime in itself. So the hacker takes a very small risk.”
However, it does cost society. Coin mining can slow down devices, overheat batteries, and in some cases, render devices unusable. For enterprises, the virtual gold rush can put corporate networks at risk and inflate cloud central processing unit usage, adding cost.
The whole thing has become “an industry,” where “hackers work nine to five, Monday to Friday and go on Christmas holidays,” Rehnberg said.
The coin mining trend in Sweden is partly due to the infiltration of Web sites, meaning that a Web site will steal capacity as long as you are on it.
However, it can also happen through the more traditional route, where software is installed on a computer.
Sweden is a good target because there is great interest in bitcoin, but also because the country is rich and people have fast, modern computers.
“This is a race,” Rehnberg said. “A faster computer enables a higher reward.”
As digital currency prices soared the business has become very lucrative, though things could change rapidly.
“Then the bad guys will find other ways to earn money,” Rehnberg said. At some point in the future they will target your home, he said.
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS