Hackers have now managed to access popular cryptocurrency wallets including Bitcoin which were worth $150,000 (£113,250). According to Kaspersky Lab researchers, the cybercriminals are using a new malware, “Cryptoshuffler Trojan,” through which they switch the address of the user’s wallet into their own.
The report exposed that the malware was around since last year and is involved in targeting popular cryptocurrencies including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Zcash, Monero, dash, and others.
The Russian-based cybersecurity company uncovered its campaign in June this year; however, the Cryptoshuffler’s Bitcoin wallet emerged last year. Unlike other cryptocurrency malware, Cryptoshuffler operates by monitoring the user’s device clipboard. The malware replaces the legitimate address in the user’s wallet with the one owned by the malware creator.
Further, the experts have discovered that the hackers were initiating the attack with less advanced techniques and were investing less in terms of resources and time.
“This Trojan clearly demonstrates that an infected computer or smartphone will not necessarily slow down or display ransom messages. On the contrary, many kinds of malware try to keep a low profile and to operate as stealthily as possible; the longer they remain undetected, the more money they will make for their creators,” Kaspersky Lab said in a blog post.
Cryptocurrency has a general work structure according to which a user needs to know the wallet ID of a recipient to whom he wants to transfer the crypto coins. The “CryptoShuffler Trojan” initializes and starts to monitor the device clipboard, which a user use when making a payment. Through such an operation, the user’s entered wallet ID into the designated address line is replaced by the malicious Trojan one. Therefore, the money isn’t sent to the intended address of the user.
CryptoShuffler Stole $150,000 by Replacing Bitcoin Wallet IDs in PC Clipboards – by @campuscodihttps://t.co/wS28ZwBnCX
— BleepingComputer (@BleepinComputer) November 1, 2017
As reported by Bleeping Computer, Kaspersky Lab malware analyst Sergey Yunakovsky said, “Cryptocurrency is not a far-off technology anymore. Lately, we have observed an increase in malware attacks targeting different types of cryptocurrencies and we expect this trend to continue.”
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About the Author
Zehra Ali is a Tech Reporter and Journalist. She has done her Masters in Mass Communication. Topics related to cybersecurity, IoT, AI, Big Data and other privacy matters are extensively covered by her on various platforms. You can follow her on twitter.
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