• Advertise
  • Submit a Press Release
NewsBTC
Bitcoin & cryptocurrency news today, price & technical analysis
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Invest BTCTry
  • Join STC ICOBuy
No Result
View All Result
  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • TradeeToro
  • Invest BTCTry
  • Join STC ICOBuy
No Result
View All Result
NewsBTC
No Result
View All Result
Price & Market
Cap Data from
Nomics Logo

HiddenMiner: Mines Monero on Android Devices While Protecting Itself From Discovery and Removal

newsbtc by newsbtc
3 years ago
in
Reading Time: 3min read
hiddenminer android
Advertisement

Security firm Trend Micro has discovered a new strain of Android malware, calling it “HiddenMiner” because of the advanced techniques it employs to protect itself from discovery and removal. Like most cryptocurrency-mining software, HiddenMiner uses a device’s computing power to mine Monero. But according to Trend Micro, because there is no switch, controller, or optimizer in HiddenMiner’s code it will continuously mine Monero until the device’s resources are exhausted.

“Given HiddenMiner’s nature, it could cause the affected device to overheat and potentially fail,” the company said.

This strain is not the first cryptocurrency-mining malware to put smartphone hardware at risk: last year the “Loapi” Android malware worked a phone so hard that in less than 48-hours its battery swelled up, bursting open the device’s back cover. Trend Micro said the two pieces of malware share similarities, pointing out that both HiddenMiner and Loapi lock a phone’s screen after users attempt to revoke device administration permissions.

Further, researchers have identified the Monero mining pools and wallets associated with the malware, and discovered that one of the pool operators withdrew 26 XMR — amounting to almost $5,000 — from one of the wallets. This, the firm said, indicates a “rather active” campaign of using infected devices to mine cryptocurrency.

5 BTC + 300 Free Spins for new players & 15 BTC + 35.000 Free Spins every month, only at mBitcasino. Play Now!

To protect devices, Trend Micro advises users of Android devices to practice “mobile security hygiene.” This means only downloading from official app marketplaces, regularly updating a device’s OS, and being prudent with the permissions granted to applications. So far, HiddenMiner is affecting Android users in India and China, but Trend Micro says it “won’t be a surprise” if it spreads to other countries.

HiddenMiner Techniques

HiddenMiner poses as a legitimate Google Play update app, and forces users to activate it as a device administrator. The app will continue to pop up until victims click the Activate button. Once granted permission, HiddenMiner will start mining Monero in the background.

It also attempts to hide itself on infected devices by emptying the app label and using a transparent icon after installation. This allows the malware to hide and automatically run with device administrator permission until the next device boot. According to Trend Micro, HiddenMiner also has anti-emulator capabilities built-in to bypass detection and automated analysis.

It’s also hard to get rid of: users can’t uninstall an active system admin package until device administrator privileges are removed first. But HiddenMiner locks the device’s screen when a user wants to deactivate its device administrator privileges, taking advantage of a bug found in Android operating systems before Android 7.0 Nougat.

GhostMiner and Jenkins Miner

Just last week, researchers at Minerva Labs uncovered another Monero mining malware strain, which the firm dubbed GhostMiner. GhostMiner uses “fileless” malware delivery techniques to land on systems, and will fight to remove other mining malware it so it can mine Monero itself.

At the time of publication, GhostMiner had not accumulated hefty profits, but warranted attention because of its unique self-preservation methods. Monetarily, this is nothing compared to operations like the Jenkins miner, which earlier this year made its developers over $3 million in Monero.

Tags: androidcryptocurrencycybercrimeHiddenMinermalwaremonerosmartphoneTrend Micro
TweetShare
Nexo Logo
BitStarz Player Lands $2,459,124 Record Win! Could you be next big winner? Win up to $1,000,000 in One Spin at CryptoSlots
newsbtc

newsbtc

Related Posts

Unicly

Capitalizing on Blockchain’s Promise, Unicly Delivers NFT Fractionalization

24 mins ago
BNB Soars Above $600, is an Ethereum Flippening on The Cards?

BNB Soars Above $600, is an Ethereum Flippening on The Cards?

1 hour ago
Bitcoin May Hit $100,000 Soon on "Wildly Bullish" Sentiment: Analyst

Bitcoin May Hit $100,000 Soon on “Wildly Bullish” Sentiment: Analyst

1 hour ago
unifarm

UniFarm Raises $2 Million After Launching Innovative Farming Pool Featuring 17 Top DeFi Projects

3 hours ago
coinzoom

CoinZoom Disrupts the Remittance Landscape With 0% Commission And Cryptocurrencies

4 hours ago
Ethereum Institutional Interest is Rapidly Growing; Here's What On-Chain Data is Showing

Ethereum Institutional Interest is Rapidly Growing; Here’s What On-Chain Data is Showing

5 hours ago

Premium Partners

Top Brokers

eToro

eToro

Review · Visit
Evolve Markets

Evolve Markets

Review · Visit
Bybit

Bybit

Review · Visit
ArbiSmart

ArbiSmart

Review · Visit
PrimeXBT

PrimeXBT

Review · Visit
Moneta Markets

Moneta Markets

Review · Visit

Top Casinos

BitStarz

BitStarz

Review · Visit
mBit

mBit

Review · Visit
CryptoGames

CryptoGames

Review · Visit
Bonusfinder DE

Bonusfinder DE

Review · Visit
Bspin

Bspin

Review · Visit
Wolf Bet

Wolf Bet

Review · Visit

Top Sportsbooks

1xBit

1xBit

Review · Visit

Top ICOs

Student Coin

Student Coin

Review · Visit

Token sale

Holdefi

Holdefi

Review · Visit

Press Releases

Raze Network to Launch Its Public Distribution Sale on Balancer Liquidity Bootstrapping Pool

April 12, 2021

Blockchain Goes Mainstream With Rowan Energy

April 12, 2021

Two Leading Russian Media and PR Agencies United Into One Full Cycle Advertising Agency

April 9, 2021

Newsletter Signup


ABOUT US

NewsBTC is a cryptocurrency news service that covers bitcoin news today, technical analysis & forecasts for bitcoin price and other altcoins. Here at NewsBTC, we are dedicated to enlightening everyone about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

We cover BTC news related to bitcoin exchanges, bitcoin mining and price forecasts for various cryptocurrencies.

COMPANY

  • Advertising
  • Comments Policy
  • Privacy Center
  • Sitemap
  • About Us
  • Contact

Technical Analysis

  • Bitcoin (BTC)
  • Ethereum (ETH)
  • Ripple (XRP)
  • Chainlink (LINK)
  • Cardano (ADA)
  • Tezos (XTZ)

LINKS

Auto Trading Software ▸

Cryptocurrency news

  • Bitcoin
  • Ethereum
  • Ripple
  • Chainlink
  • Cardano
  • EOS
  • Tezos

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

  • News
    • Bitcoin
    • Ethereum
    • Ripple
    • Cardano
    • Tezos
    • EOS
    • Chainlink
    • Sponsored
    • Press Releases
  • Analysis
    • Bitcoin (BTC)
    • Ethereum (ETH)
    • Cardano (ADA)
    • Chainlink (LINK)
    • Litecoin (LTC)
    • Tezos (XTZ)
    • Zcash (ZEC)
    • EOS
    • YearnFinance (YFI)
  • Education
    • Accepting Bitcoin payments
    • Using Bitcoin
    • What is Bitcoin Mining
    • How to Trade Bitcoin
    • How to Buy Bitcoin
    • Digital Currency Exchange
    • Proof of Existence
    • Is Bitcoin legal?
    • Bitcoin Books
  • Trading Course
  • Directory
    • Crypto Businesses
    • Bitcoin Brokers
    • Casinos
    • Sportsbooks
  • Trade
  • Invest BTC
  • Join STC ICO

© 2020 NewsBTC. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy Center or Cookie Policy.