In accordance with the latest research conducted by the security firm Avast, cybercriminals are targeting gamers with Crackonosh malware as they are looking forward to making millions from Monero. It has been revealed on Thursday that Crackonosh malware is being hidden in the free versions of games like GTA 5, Far Cry 5, NBA 2K19, and Jurassic World Evolution available on torrent websites.
Avast Says Crackonosh Malware Hidden in Free Versions of Games
Elaborating further, Avast revealed that after being installed in the computer, Crackonosh quietly uses the processing power of the computer to extract cryptocurrencies for the hackers.
In addition to this, it has already been revealed that the Crackonosh malware has been utilized in order to generate $2 million worth of crypto-asset known as Monero since the month of June.
Daniel Benes, one of the researchers at Avast, discussed with CNBC that the affected users may notice that the speed of their computers slow down due to overuse along with the electricity bill getting higher than average. He said:
“It takes all the resources that the computer has so the computer is unresponsive.”
Daniel Benes on Profitability of Crackonosh for Hackers
Benes revealed that on the discovery, they found out that the customers affected were not using the antivirus and wrote:
“In summary, Crackonosh shows the risks in downloading cracked software and demonstrates that it is highly profitable for attackers. As long as people continue to download cracked software, attacks like these will continue to be profitable for attackers. The key take-away from this is that you really can’t get something for nothing and when you try to steal software, odds are someone is trying to steal from you.”
Earlier, the researchers at Cisco-Talos found out malware inside a cheat software for multiple games in the month of March
