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Google warns crypto miners are hacking users' cloud accounts.

  • 86 percent of the 50 recently compromised Google Cloud accounts were used to perform cryptocurrency mining, according to Google.
  • Cryptocurrency mining is a profit-driven activity that frequently necessitates enormous amounts of processing power, which Google Cloud customers can  access at a cost.
  • In an executive summary of the investigation, Google stated, "Malicious actors were identified doing bitcoin mining within compromised Cloud instances."

Google has cautioned that cryptocurrency miners are using hacked Google Cloud accounts for computationally intensive mining purposes.

In a report released on Wednesday, the search giant's cybersecurity team detailed the security compromise. The research, dubbed "Threat Horizons," promises to give knowledge that can help businesses safeguard their cloud systems.

In an executive summary of the investigation, Google stated, "Malicious actors were identified doing bitcoin mining within compromised Cloud instances."

Cryptocurrency mining is a for-profit activity that frequently requires large amounts of computing power, which Google Cloud customers can access at a cost. Google Cloud is a cloud-based storage platform that allows customers to store data and files off-site.

86 percent of the 50 recently compromised Google Cloud accounts were used to perform cryptocurrency mining, according to Google. Within 22 seconds of the account being hacked, cryptocurrency mining software was downloaded in the majority of the breaches, according to Google.

Around 10% of the compromised accounts were also used to scan other publicly available resources on the internet for susceptible systems, while 8% of the accounts were utilised to attack other targets.

Bitcoin, the world's most popular cryptocurrency, has been chastised for consuming excessive amounts of energy. Bitcoin mining consumes more energy than some entire countries. Police raided a suspected cannabis farm in May, only to discover it was actually an illegal bitcoin mine.

In a blog post, Bob Mechler, director of the office of the chief information security officer at Google Cloud, and Seth Rosenblatt, security editor at Google Cloud, noted that "the cloud threat landscape in 2021 was more complex than merely rogue cryptocurrency miners, of course."

They said Google analysts also discovered a phishing attack by Russian outfit APT28/Fancy Bear at the end of They said Google analysts also discovered a phishing attack by Russian outfit APT28/Fancy Bear at the end of

Google researchers also identified, a North Korean government-backed threat group posed as Samsung recruiters and sent harmful attachments to staff at several South Korean anti-malware cybersecurity companies, they added.