The National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA, has alerted internet users of activities of hackers who exploit the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant wallpaper to mine cryptocurrency.
According to the warning issued by NITDA, cryptojacking involves hiding a malicious file within a legitimate one such as an image or a video, which then executes the attack unnoticed in the background of a person’s phone or computer.
“The malware”, NITDA said “has been found within some websites, with unsuspecting visitors infected the moment they click on a link. It can usually be spotted when there is a sudden jump in the amount of processing power a device is using”.
“The growing trend has been found within images of various celebrities in recent months, often in the form of wallpapers that can be downloaded to a person’s desktop or smartphone. The latest of the incidence is of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
Microsoft’s security intelligence unit discovered the cryptocurrency mining malware hidden within downloadable wallpaper of the late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
According to Microsoft security experts, the malware is designed to hijack a computer’s CPU to mine cryptocurrency.
“While the world mourns the loss of an NBA legend, cybercriminals are, as expected, taking advantage of the tragedy. We found a malicious HTML file posing as a Kobe Bryant wallpaper that contains a coin mining script.”
Microsoft says its Windows Defender security system automatically detect the malware and blocks the website hosting the mining script.
Cryptojacking has become an increasingly popular method for hackers to make money, as it can be very difficult to spot for people unfamiliar with the cyber attack method.
NITDA CERRT recommends that strong antivirus software should be installed on your devices and also ensure to practice best cyber safety measures.
