To deal with Google Cloud’s latest security protocol, bad actors who use malware to steal GPU power to mine cryptocurrency may have to step up their game.
It’s a lifeline for Google Cloud users who are vulnerable to cryptocurrency mining attacks. The Security Command Center Team has developed a threat detection service to protect “badly configured” accounts that are used to mine cryptocurrency by attackers.
Google Cloud announced the release of Virtual Machine Threat Detection (VMTD) in its Security Command Center (SCC) area in a blog post. The VMTD successfully detects threats, including crypto-mining malware used inside virtual machines, by scanning compute engines in Google Cloud.
Malware attacks that mine cryptocurrency, also known as “cryptojacking,” are a constant annoyance in the industry. While browser-based cryptojacking became more popular during the bear market of 2019, cloud-based crypto mining is still a problem.
In November of last year, Cointelegraph reported that 86 percent of the 50 analyzed incidents involving compromised Google Cloud protocols were related to crypto mining. According to the Google “Threat Horizons” report, hackers may try to take over GPU space to mine cryptocurrency because it is a “cloud resource-intensive for-profit activity.”
The Security Command Center Team wanted to improve protection for its Virtual Machine users as part of the product roadmap.
The result is VMTD, a program that performs memory scanning without the use of an agent to help detect threats such as crypto-mining malware. The VMTD not only protects users from coin mining, but it also protects them from data exfiltration and ransomware.
Ransomware attacks grew in popularity in 2021, peaking in April. Some analysts believe that the rise in ransomware attacks coincided with the meteoric rise of cryptocurrency, and that regulators and industry players have taken steps to combat the practice.
Cryptocurrency mining cannot survive the next round of environmental law The large amount of carbon dioxide emissions of blockchain mining is unjustified and becomes a crosshair of the Global Environmental Law.
While most ransomware attacks appear to be financially motivated, others appear to have geopolitical goals such as “deception, espionage, reputational damage, and disruption of the enemy government’s operations,” according to Chainalysis.
Although there are advantages to using cryptocurrency to carry out ransomware attacks, the transparency of crypto transactions makes it easier for authorities to track the movement of funds, according to the report. For years, North Korea has used cryptocurrency to get around economic sanctions.
In the case of crypto-mining malware attacks, Google has made a concerted effort to stop malicious actors from using the CPU power and electricity of unwitting internet users to mine cryptocurrencies. In 2018, over 55% of businesses were reportedly affected worldwide, including Google’s Youtube.
Over the coming months, the VMTD will gradually integrate with other parts of Google Cloud, benefiting even more Google Cloud users.
