Crypto Mining Attacks in Information Systems: An Emerging Threat to Cyber Security

The popularity of cryptocurrencies has continued to grow drastically over the past decade and this has drawn significant attention to various threat actors. Cybercriminals are now employing unconventional means to acquire cryptocurrencies at the expense of benign Internet users. This paper investigates the state-of-the-art crypto mining attacks by examining the malware code and the behavioral analysis upon execution. It examines the two most common attack approaches; web browser-based crypto mining which leverages JavaScript and installable binary crypto mining where the malware runs in memory. Furthermore, the paper investigates how cybercriminals endeavor to establish a persistence mechanism and avoid detection. The results from static and dynamic analysis uncover the techniques employed by the malware to exploit potential victims. Indicators of compromise are drawn from the uncovered artifacts which can be used as inputs to intrusion detection systems to help mitigate such cyber-attacks.