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
Large language models can do jaw-dropping things. But nobody knows exactly why.
And that's a problem. Figuring it out is one of the biggest scientific puzzles of our time and a crucial step towards controlling more powerful future models.
The problem with plug-in hybrids? Their drivers.
Plug-in hybrids are often sold as a transition to EVs, but new data from Europe shows we’re still underestimating the emissions they produce.
Google DeepMind’s new generative model makes Super Mario–like games from scratch
Genie learns how to control games by watching hours and hours of video. It could help train next-gen robots too.
How scientists traced a mysterious covid case back to six toilets
When wastewater surveillance turns into a hunt for a single infected individual, the ethics get tricky.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.