{"id":1490,"date":"2018-04-26T11:52:10","date_gmt":"2018-04-26T15:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/endpoint-security\/?p=1490"},"modified":"2018-04-26T11:52:10","modified_gmt":"2018-04-26T15:52:10","slug":"can-cryptojacking-attacks-cost-enterprise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/solutionsreview.com\/endpoint-security\/can-cryptojacking-attacks-cost-enterprise\/","title":{"rendered":"What Can Cryptojacking Attacks Cost Your Enterprise?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Here at Solutions Review, we\u2019ve reported heavily on the wave of illicit cryptocurrency mining<\/a> attacks\u2014often times called cryptojacking<\/a>\u2014hitting enterprise and government servers around the world. Cryptojacking has proven to be a far more lucrative cyber-criminal venture than ransomware, which may be why the latter has seen a noticeable decline<\/a> in favor of the former over the past year.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Unlike ransomware, cryptojacking doesn\u2019t deliberately shut down enterprise business operations, nor does it encrypt important files. In fact, these attacks do everything in their power to conceal itself from your IT security team. Therefore, it may be easy to dismiss cryptojacking as irrelevant to your enterprise\u2019s network safety. <\/span><\/p>\n

This is a mistake and potentially costly one at that. <\/span><\/p>\n

In fact, cryptojacking can be devastating to both your network\u2019s functionality and your overall bottom line. The true costs of cryptojacking can be staggering. Here\u2019s what you need to know: <\/span><\/p>\n

A Quick Definition of Cryptojacking<\/b><\/p>\n

Cryptocurrency mining, by itself, is actually a legitimate process. Cryptocurrencies rely on blockchain technology to secure transactions and ensure a clear ledger of those transactions. These transactions are bundled into \u201cblocks,\u201d which need to be verified to ensure that they are legitimate (i.e. the same Bitcoin wasn\u2019t used in two different transactions at once). <\/span><\/p>\n

Cryptocurrency mining, then, is basically users volunteering their endpoints\u2019 processing power to verify these blocks on behalf of the exchanges. All cryptocurrencies reward users with the fastest processing time with a small amount of the cryptocurrency in question. Since a single Bitcoin is currently valued at $8,841, this can be too enticing an offer for users to pass up. <\/span><\/p>\n

However, as it turns out, cryptocurrency mining is a digital labor-intensive process. Malicious threat actors, therefore, look to pass the costs onto anyone else\u2014including your enterprise. This is when innocent cryptocurrency mining becomes cryptojacking.<\/span><\/p>\n

What Does Cryptojacking Cost? <\/b><\/p>\n

Editor\u2019s Note: We\u2019ll be using Bitcoin as a unit of measurement for cryptojacking attack costs, as it is the most popular\/well-known cryptocurrency on the market and the one with the most reliable statistics. These findings can and do apply to other cryptocurrencies as well. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

There are, according to <\/span>Motherboard<\/span><\/a>, 300,000 Bitcoin transactions a day. At current market prices, hackers could turn a profit using 24 terawatt-hours of electricity annually. That comes to 215 kilowatt-hours for each individual Bitcoin transaction. <\/span><\/p>\n

In a human context, the average American household consumes 901 kilowatts a month. So a single illicit Bitcoin transaction verification is the equivalent of a suburban home\u2019s electricity bill for a week added onto your total enterprise\u2019s electricity bill\u2014and that is a conservative estimate. <\/span><\/p>\n

Another conservative estimate is the average electricity bill for a suburban home bill totaling <\/span>$183<\/span><\/a> per month or about $45 a week. Even if the cryptojacking attack only completes one transaction per week, that is an additional $2,196 on your enterprise\u2019s yearly electricity bill. Furthermore, as Bitcoin scales up in value, it will require more electricity to mine, and therefore more attacks will follow. <\/span><\/p>\n

That yearly bill doesn\u2019t cover the physical damage that cryptojacking can wreck on your enterprises. There have been reports of illicit cryptojacking attacks overheating electrical substructures and destroying wires and transformers. The cost of hiring an electrician can run as high as $85 an hour, not to mention the several thousand dollars of hardware needed to replace any damaged electrical components. For the purposes of this exercise, let\u2019s say you need a workweek of repairs and new electrical panel. Conservatively, this bill comes to $6,400. <\/span><\/p>\n

So far, a cryptojacking attack can cost your business $8,596 conservatively. That isn\u2019t even getting into costs that are harder to quantify. <\/span><\/p>\n

Cryptojacking and Network Damage <\/b><\/p>\n

In the paragraphs above, we said that cryptojacking attacks don\u2019t typically attempt to disable enterprise network functions. However, that doesn\u2019t mean they have no effect on your digital functionality: any program or code requiring that much physical power will undoubtedly drain your enterprise\u2019s processing power as well. Internet and business processes slowdowns and even outright shutdowns aren\u2019t uncommon as the result of cryptojacking attacks. <\/span><\/p>\n

The costs of these network symptoms can depend on the size of your enterprise\u2019s IT environment, the extent of the cryptojacking attack, the dwell time, and the time your network is slowed or stopped. Thus it can be hard to calculate accurately. However, these costs can include: <\/span><\/p>\n