Security firm TrendMicro stated in a new report that Googleâs DoubleClick ad services were used to distribute cryptocurrency mining malware to a number of users in Europe and Asia.
On its Security and Intelligence Blog, the company outlined how CoinHive â a JavaScript program that works in the background of a website and uses a computerâs processing power to mine monero â was distributed by attackers who appropriated Googleâs DoubleClick. Significantly, miners like CoinHive operate without a userâs consent or knowledge.
Googleâs DoubleClick ad services are also used by YouTube, the worldâs most popular video sharing service, and the miner impacted a number of users on the site, according to ArsTechnica.
A âseparate web miner that connects to a private poolâ was also involved in the scheme, according to TrendMicroâs report.
The âmalvertisementâ incorporated two different web miner scripts in addition to the actual advertisement, according to the report.
It continued:
âThe affected webpage will show the legitimate advertisement while the two web miners covertly perform their task. We speculate that the attackersâ use of these advertisements on legitimate websites is a ploy to target a larger number of users, in comparison to only that of compromised devices. The traffic involving the abovementioned cryptocurrency miners has since decreased after January 24â.
As much as 80 percent of an affected computerâs processing power can be taken over when exposed, reducing the machineâs performance, according to the report.
Clandestine cryptocurrency mining has been on the rise in recent months, as previously reported. Companies such as oil pipeline giant Transneft have seen their systems affected by the malware, and a report from November suggested that CoinHive has become one of the more common pieces of malware in circulation today.
Malware image via Shutterstock
