Australia Cyber Security Magazine: Carbon Black TAU Discovers Major Evolution in Widely Used Cryptomining Campaign Impacting Over 500,000 Computers

Hey there, Bay Area cybersecurity and healthcare professionals. What’s the buzz? Well, let’s dive right into it. You see, there’s been a real shakeup in the cryptomining world—one that’s impacted over half a million computers.

Let’s take a stroll down ‘Cryptocurrency Lane.’ Imagine a sunny day: old couples out for walks, joggers, cyclists, young techies buzzing about Bitcoin, Ripple, Ether, and the likes, kids kind of confused about this new “invisible” money. Well, we both know it’s not just about the blockchains and surge pricing. It’s much more than that, right?

So, what on Earth happened?

Basically, a wickedly smart group of tech folks (we’ll just call them the Threat Analysis Unit or TAU, because that sounds very ‘Mission Impossible,’ don’t you think?) have discovered an evolution. Not Darwin’s kind, but one where a popular cryptomining campaign is changing its strategy. It’s growing, evolving, and it’s hitting a lot more computers than we’d like.

So, why should we care, especially all of us dealing with healthcare? Well, two words – sensitive information. From patient records and insurance details to specialist consultations and test results, our industry is chock-full with critical data. Imagine if some shady character taps into our network and starts playing around with it. Scary stuff!

Let’s get a tad more technical for a moment. This revamped cryptomining campaign affects the functionality of systems and can cause them to crash or perform poorly. That’s hapless Joe at clinic reception pulling his hair out as his computer keeps freezing up. Or Nurse Nancy unable to pull up vital test results urgently needed for a patient at the ER. See where I’m going with this?

Now, this is where things get real interesting. This evolved cryptomining campaign is not just mining crypto on those systems. Oh no, it is far more sinister—it installs malicious software that could potentially expose confidential, sensitive or, in our line of work, life-critical information and data.

So, what can we do about it, you ask? Great question! Well, for starters, make sure your systems are patched up and updated. This helps to keep the boogie-man at bay. Also, be vigilant about the websites you visit and links you click on. We all need to be more savvy about potential threats. And most importantly, invest in good cybersecurity measures—think firewalls, virus scanners, etcetera.

Now, I know all of this can be a bit stressful, after all, we didn’t sign up to be tech geeks navigating the shadowy world of cyber threats. We got into healthcare because we want to help people, right? Well, in today’s interconnected world, keeping our systems clean and secure is all part of that mission.

I hope that gives you all a good idea of what’s going on in the cryptomining world and how it might affect our industry. Be vigilant, my friends – in the world of healthcare, cyber threats are not just about mischievous hackers tapping at their keyboards in dark basements. They can literally be a matter of life and death.

Keep your eyes open, Bay Area. Let’s stay ahead of the game, together.

by Morgan Phisher | HEAL Security