A cryptojacking attack hit thousands of websites, including government ones
Surreptitious mining of cryptocurrency by hackers is spreading very, very fast.
The news: Over 4,000 websites, including those of the US federal judiciary and the UK National Health Service, have been weaponized by hackers to mine the cryptocurrency Monero on their behalf.
How it worked: Hackers injected malware into a widely used plug-in called Browsealoud that reads web pages our loud as a way of helping partially sighted people navigate the internet. The malware is based on the popular app Coinhive, a piece of software that uses processing power on someone’s device to mine cryptocurrency. The malicious version of the app does this without people's knowledge, coopting their computing power to enrich hackers.
Why it matters: Cryptojacking is rapidly becoming one of the world’s biggest cyberthreats. This news shows how easy it is for crooks to spread the trick, by infecting a single product used across multiples sites with a single hack.
Keep Reading
Most Popular
Geoffrey Hinton tells us why he’s now scared of the tech he helped build
“I have suddenly switched my views on whether these things are going to be more intelligent than us.”
Meet the people who use Notion to plan their whole lives
The workplace tool’s appeal extends far beyond organizing work projects. Many users find it’s just as useful for managing their free time.
Learning to code isn’t enough
Historically, learn-to-code efforts have provided opportunities for the few, but new efforts are aiming to be inclusive.
Deep learning pioneer Geoffrey Hinton has quit Google
Hinton will be speaking at EmTech Digital on Wednesday.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.