CoinHive - Reading Assignment

[Grant_Hawkins]

Read this obituary for CoinHive from 2019. Answer the questions and post your answers below:

Crypto Mining Service Coinhive to Shut Down Operations in March

Questions:

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
2. What is cryptojacking?
3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?

[bitbooz]

1 Among the reasons behind the closure, the developers note the over 50 percent drop in hash rate following the last Monero (XMR) hard fork.

The service was reportedly also hit by the [cryptocurrency] market drop off.

2. Coinhive is a JavaScript-based digital currency mining service that banks on a computer code to be installed on websites. Once installed, the service uses some of the computing power of a browser that loads the site in question. Although Coinhive is not an inherently malicious code, it has become popular among hackers for cryptojacking.

Its mining malware enclosed in the apps as being the web browser-based Coinhive XMR mining code.

3. The top three most wanted malware strains were all cryptojacking-related with Coinhive. A report from cyber security research firm Kaspersky Labs [revealed] that cryptojacking overtook ransomware as the biggest cybersecurity threat in 2018

[pepemadrid]

1. a) 50 percent drop in hash rate following the last Monero hard fork and b) the 85% drop off in the crypto market.
2. Cryptojacking is an emerging form of malware that hides on your device and steals its computing resources in order to mine for valuable online currencies.
3. Coinhive, precisely.

[LeoSp22]

1. A 50% drop in the hash rate and the cryptocurrency market drop off.
2. It is a malicious attack in which rather than damaging the device, it is used to mine cryptos without authorization.
3. Coinhive

[anoninuk]

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?

The Hardfork of Monero and the Cryptocurrency Market Drop-Off

2. What is cryptojacking?

The strain of mining malware enclosed in the apps

3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?

Cryptojacking-related with Coinhive

[csh2000]

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
   A 50% drop in Monero hash rate following the hard fork and 85% in Monero market price.

2. What is cryptojacking?
   Cryptojacking is the unauthorized use of a computing device by cybercriminals to mine cryptocurrency.

3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
   Coinhive.

[Gab]

• What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
  The two main causes were the 85%value drop of monero and the announced hard fork.

• What is cryptojacking?
  is an increasingly popular malware that steal your computing power and electricity to mine crypto.

• What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
  The top three most wanted malware strains were all cryptojacking-related with Coinhive.

[CryptoLee6]

1. A 50% drop in the hash rate and the cryptocurrency market drop off.
2. Unauthorized mining software it is used to mine cryptos without authorization.
3. Cryptojacking-related with Coinhive

[SalJoaNoc]

1. The over 50 percent drop in hash rate (last Monero hard fork) and the cryptocurrency drop off.
2. It is the malicious use of a person or persons’ computing power to mine cryptocurrencies without consent.
3. Coinhive.

[Raulitiu]

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
   50 percent drop in hash rate following the last Monero hard fork.
   The service was reportedly also hit by the market drop off, with the value of XMR slumped over 85 percent within a year

2. What is cryptojacking?
   Cryptojacking is an emerging form of malware that hides on your device and steals its computing resources in order to mine for valuable online currencies.

3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
   All cryptojacking-related with Coinhive.

[CryptoDragon]

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?

• 50% drop in hash rate after Monero hard fork
• 85% drop of Monero price within a year

2. What is cryptojacking?
   in cryptojacking, hackers install malicious software in the victim’s computer to use its computing power for mining.

3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
   Cryptojacking software using CoinHive

[Roman]

1. Monero hardfork that caused 50% drop in hash (isn’t it positive for mining?) combined with decline of XMR price (can’t they just switch to other cryptocurrencies?).

2. Malicious activity aimed to use victim’s hardware to mine cryptocurrency.

3. Coinhive

[cocco]

1. a drop of over 50 % hash rate following a monero hard fork and an 85% drop in price of monero
   2.high jacking the mining power of a browser that logs on the size. althogh coinhive is not inherently malicious it became a favorite of crypto jackers
   3.most used was coinhive

[Dejan]

Questions:

1. What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
   • Hashrate drop of 50% after monero hard fork
   • Monero price slump of 85%
2. What is cryptojacking?
   • Website/app visitors unkowlingly allow external parties to use their computing power for the mining of cryptocurrency.
3. What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
   • Coinhive

[diogozas]

1- 50 percent drop in hash rate after the monero hard fork and due to market cap value drop off.

2- Cryptojacking is an emerging form of malware that hides on your device and steals its computing resources in order to mine for valuable online currencies like Bitcoin

3- Coinhive

[cme]

@Grant_Hawkins

• What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
• What is cryptojacking?
• What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?

This article is written at “FEB 27, 2019”

1. first reason: economic problems noticed at February-2019 : xmr price lows, big hash rate drop due to ‘anti-cryptojacking’ awareness adblock/minerblock in web-browsers after several CoinHive scandals StarBucks-wifi, Youtube-Adds: https://www.binance.vision/security/what-is-cryptojacking )
   and second reason: code would need to be changed because monero would change in future hard-fork also: “This and the announced hard fork and algorithm update of the Monero network on March 9 has lead us to the conclusion that we need to discontinue Coinhive,”
2. cryptojacking is someone running miner sw on your machine (pc, laptop, tablet, mobile phone) without you realizing it
3. in December-2018 “the top three most wanted malware strains were all cryptojacking… cryptojacking overtook ransomware as the biggest cybersecurity threat”

[begood]

1. A 50% drop in the hash rate due to XMR hard fork and 85% drop off in the crypto market.
2. Malware in our device that it is used to mine using its computing resources.
3. Coinhive

[Maximus]

@Grant_Hawkins

• What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
• What is cryptojacking?
• What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?

1. Drop in hash and a Hard Fork.
2. It when a crypto code that gets installed on a website and uses some of the computing power of the browser get hacked.
3. Cryptojacking

[dave-dave]

• What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?
  over 50 percent drop in hash rate following the Monero hard fork and
  cryptocurrency market drop off.

• What is cryptojacking?
  PC and smartphone users are targeted by unauthorized mining software

• What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?
  Coinhive

[mayjer]

What two factors caused CoinHive to become economically inviable?

• 50% drop in hash rate of users
• XMR had dropped 85% in value over the last year
  I.e. they were getting mining reward less often and when they did get rewards they were worth much less.

What is cryptojacking?

While this isn’t explained directly in the article, it can be inferred cryptojacking is “hijacking” the browser to run code that does crypto mining.

What was the #1 most-wanted malware for 2018?

Cryptojacking, especially in the Middle East and Africa.