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2023-04-14
Wu, Min-Hao, Huang, Jian-Hung, Chen, Jian-Xin, Wang, Hao-Jyun, Chiu, Chen-Yu.  2022.  Machine Learning to Identify Bitcoin Mining by Web Browsers. 2022 2nd International Conference on Computation, Communication and Engineering (ICCCE). :66—69.
In the recent development of the online cryptocurrency mining platform, Coinhive, numerous websites have employed “Cryptojacking.” They may need the unauthorized use of CPU resources to mine cryptocurrency and replace advertising income. Web cryptojacking technologies are the most recent attack in information security. Security teams have suggested blocking Cryptojacking scripts by using a blacklist as a strategy. However, the updating procedure of the static blacklist has not been able to promptly safeguard consumers because of the sharp rise in “Cryptojacking kidnapping”. Therefore, we propose a Cryptojacking identification technique based on analyzing the user's computer resources to combat the assault technology known as “Cryptojacking kidnapping.” Machine learning techniques are used to monitor changes in computer resources such as CPU changes. The experiment results indicate that this method is more accurate than the blacklist system and, in contrast to the blacklist system, manually updates the blacklist regularly. The misuse of online Cryptojacking programs and the unlawful hijacking of users' machines for Cryptojacking are becoming worse. In the future, information security undoubtedly addresses the issue of how to prevent Cryptojacking and abduction. The result of this study helps to save individuals from unintentionally becoming miners.
2022-07-12
Tekiner, Ege, Acar, Abbas, Uluagac, A. Selcuk, Kirda, Engin, Selcuk, Ali Aydin.  2021.  In-Browser Cryptomining for Good: An Untold Story. 2021 IEEE International Conference on Decentralized Applications and Infrastructures (DAPPS). :20—29.
In-browser cryptomining uses the computational power of a website's visitors to mine cryptocurrency, i.e., to create new coins. With the rise of ready-to-use mining scripts distributed by service providers (e.g., Coinhive), it has become trivial to turn a website into a cryptominer by copying and pasting the mining script. Both legitimate webpage owners who want to raise an extra revenue under users' explicit consent and malicious actors who wish to exploit the computational power of the users' computers without their consent have started to utilize this emerging paradigm of cryptocurrency operations. In-browser cryptomining, though mostly abused by malicious actors in practice, is indeed a promising funding model that can be utilized by website owners, publishers, or non-profit organizations for legitimate business purposes, such as to collect revenue or donations for humanitarian projects, inter alia. However, our analysis in this paper shows that in practice, regardless of their being legitimate or not, all in-browser mining scripts are treated the same as malicious cryptomining samples (aka cryptojacking) and blacklisted by browser extensions or antivirus programs. Indeed, there is a need for a better understanding of the in-browser cryptomining ecosystem. Hence, in this paper, we present an in-depth empirical analysis of in-browser cryptomining processes, focusing on the samples explicitly asking for user consent, which we call permissioned cryptomining. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the permissioned cryptomining samples. For this, we created a dataset of 6269 unique web sites containing cryptomining scripts in their source codes to characterize the in-browser cryptomining ecosystem by differentiating permissioned and permissionless cryptomining samples. We believe that (1) this paper is the first attempt showing that permissioned in-browser cryptomining could be a legitimate and viable monetization tool if implemented responsibly and without interrupting the user, and (2) this paper will catalyze the widespread adoption of legitimate crvptominina with user consent and awareness.
2021-04-27
Aktepe, S., Varol, C., Shashidhar, N..  2020.  2020 8th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS). 2020 8th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS). :1—5.
Cryptocurrencies are the digital currencies designed to replace the regular cash money while taking place in our daily lives especially for the last couple of years. Mining cryptocurrencies are one of the popular ways to have them and make a profit due to unstable values in the market. This attracts attackers to utilize malware on internet users' computer resources, also known as cryptojacking, to mine cryptocurrencies. Cryptojacking started to be a major issue in the internet world. In this case, we developed MiNo, a web browser add-on application to detect these malicious mining activities running without the user's permission or knowledge. This add-on provides security and efficiency for the computer resources of the internet users. MiNo designed and developed with double-layer protection which makes it ahead of its competitors in the market.
2021-02-10
Aktepe, S., Varol, C., Shashidhar, N..  2020.  MiNo: The Chrome Web Browser Add-on Application to Block the Hidden Cryptocurrency Mining Activities. 2020 8th International Symposium on Digital Forensics and Security (ISDFS). :1—5.

Cryptocurrencies are the digital currencies designed to replace the regular cash money while taking place in our daily lives especially for the last couple of years. Mining cryptocurrencies are one of the popular ways to have them and make a profit due to unstable values in the market. This attracts attackers to utilize malware on internet users' computer resources, also known as cryptojacking, to mine cryptocurrencies. Cryptojacking started to be a major issue in the internet world. In this case, we developed MiNo, a web browser add-on application to detect these malicious mining activities running without the user's permission or knowledge. This add-on provides security and efficiency for the computer resources of the internet users. MiNo designed and developed with double-layer protection which makes it ahead of its competitors in the market.

2018-11-19
Eskandari, S., Leoutsarakos, A., Mursch, T., Clark, J..  2018.  A First Look at Browser-Based Cryptojacking. 2018 IEEE European Symposium on Security and Privacy Workshops (EuroS PW). :58–66.

In this paper, we examine the recent trend to- wards in-browser mining of cryptocurrencies; in particular, the mining of Monero through Coinhive and similar code- bases. In this model, a user visiting a website will download a JavaScript code that executes client-side in her browser, mines a cryptocurrency - typically without her consent or knowledge - and pays out the seigniorage to the website. Websites may consciously employ this as an alternative or to supplement advertisement revenue, may offer premium content in exchange for mining, or may be unwittingly serving the code as a result of a breach (in which case the seigniorage is collected by the attacker). The cryptocurrency Monero is preferred seemingly for its unfriendliness to large-scale ASIC mining that would drive browser-based efforts out of the market, as well as for its purported privacy features. In this paper, we survey this landscape, conduct some measurements to establish its prevalence and profitability, outline an ethical framework for considering whether it should be classified as an attack or business opportunity, and make suggestions for the detection, mitigation and/or prevention of browser-based mining for non- consenting users.