Cryptocurrency News Today – Headlines for August 20

  • Monero malware botnet targets educational institutions and government offices
  • The malware was deployed to over ten million IP addresses
  • Cryptocurrency scams have risen in recent months

Cryptocurrency News Today – a new attack has hit the educational sector and government offices. According to the reports, a Monero malware botnet called FritzFrog has reportedly been deployed to over ten millions of IP addresses. The malware is targeting educational institutions, banks, medical centers, and telecom firms. This latest crypto-based cyber attack happened after reports of several scams that have occurred since the coronavirus pandemic.

The attack was first uncovered and reported by Guardicore Labs. Cryptocurrency scams have reportedly been on the rise. Guardicore Labs, claims that Monero malware botnet, FritzFrog, has largely targeted governmental offices, medical centers, banks, educational institutions, and telecommunication companies, by installing a Monero mining app called XMRig.

Guardicore Labs Claims the Malware Uses Brute Force to Access Multiple Servers

According to Guardicore Labs, FritzFrog uses brute-force to target millions of addresses and gain access to servers around the world. The malware has successfully breached 500 SSH servers. It has hit the servers of high-educational institutions in the United States and Europe. It has also breached the servers of a railway company.

The firm noted that FritzFrog is a one-of-its-kind malware. They also added that it was complicated to track the malware as the connections were hidden in a P2P (peer-to-peer) network. One researcher working at the cybersecurity firm claimed that unlike other traditional P2P botnets, FritzFrog mixes different properties that make it unique. The malware is fileless. It assembles and carries out payloads in-memory.

Crypto-based Scams Have Surged Recently

Crypto-related crimes have reportedly increased during the ongoing pandemic in some countries. Several countries have reported a noticeable rise in malware attacks along with other kinds of crypto-related scams. Recall that Xavier Becerra, the Attorney General of California, sent a warning to investors and users regarding the rise in crypto-related scams. Authorities and law enforcement in the affected countries have also reported a rise in crypto-related scams that included ransomware attacks, and Ponzi schemes. It also uncovered different types of scams that involve digital assets.

Different types of crypto-related scams have become prevalent, including fake giveaways, sextortion, fake ICO’s, fake exchanges, bitcoin recovery, pyramid schemes, and video scams to name a few. It is only months ago that the huge Bitcoin scam-hit social media network Bitcoin. During the attack, the user accounts of top profile individuals and politicians were hacked.

Princess Ogono is a writer, lawyer and fitness enthusiast. She believes cryptocurrencies are the future. When she's not writing, she spends time with her adorable cat, Ginger and works out often.

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