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Yahoo Malware Turns "Millions" of PCs Into Bitcoin Network


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By Shona Ghosh Posted on 9 Jan 2014 at 15:21
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Millions of PCs may have been infected by malware inserted into ads on Yahoo websites - and then used to mine bitcoins.
Yahoo confirmed this week that hackers had managed to insert malware into ads displayed on some of its European sites, but hasn't said how many users have been affected.
Security company Light Cyber estimates that several million PCs have been infected, and found the malware had been used to install Bitcoin-mining software on some machines. Separate estimates this week from security firm Fox-IT suggest the UK has one of the highest numbers of affected users.
Light Cyber founder and vice president for product and strategy, Giora Engel, said the hackers were potentially building a huge network of Bitcoin-mining PCs, since the task is too labour intensive for one machine.
He added that the malware had delivered other tools that gave hackers control over infected PCs. "This campaign downloaded a variety of different tools - some were malware to enable attackers to control each infected PC and steal passwords," he told PC Pro. "Other tools were more specific – the Bitcoin mining tool is not malware itself, it's something anyone can download and generate Bitcoin."
Engel estimated that, with several million machines at their disposal, the hackers could be making $10,000 (approximately £6,000) a day.
Security companies have said the number of Bitcoin-related attacks will rise this year, after the virtual currency shot up in value. One Bitcoin is currently worth around £500, though its value fluctuates.
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/security/386452/yahoo-malware-turns-millions-of-pcs-into-bitcoin-network

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