Hackers use Crackonosh malware to dupe gamers, earn crypto-money

A piece of crypto-mining malware called Crackonosh is being used by hackers to earn digital money via gamers. Criminals have made more than $2m with the scam, BBC quotes researchers. 

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From Grand Theft Auto V to NBA 2K19, versions of some popular games are being given away for free in forums. The code of these games contains Crackonosh, which, without the knowledge of the player, generates digital money when the game is downloaded. Researchers at Avast say that they now detect about 800 cases on computers every day, BBC reports. 

A country-wise list published by BBC shows that the 18,448 gamers in the Philippines, 16,584 in Brazil and 13,779 in India have victims to Crackonosh. Poland (12,727), United States (11,856) and United Kingdom (8,946) also feature on the top rungs of the list. 

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 Crackonosh reportedly disables Windows updates and uninstalls all security software once it enters the system. 

The crypto-mining programme slows the computer, wear out components through overuse and increases the victim’s electricity bill without his/her knowledge. 

“Crackonosh shows that trying to get games for free can get you something you didn’t expect – malware. And we can see that this is highly profitable for the malware authors,” BBC quoted Christopher Budd from Avast.

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“Criminals are targeting gamers at an increasing pace. Gamers are a demographic known for spending money on their hobby and they’re highly engaged, making them a consistent resource for the criminal economy to mine.” BBC quoted Akamai’s security researcher Steve Ragan.

Cyber-security company Akamai in its latest cyber-threat report said that it detected a 340% increase in attacks on both gaming brands and gamers alike since 2019.