

Coinkrypt – cryptocoin mining malware that didnt work - cjunky
https://blog.lookout.com/blog/2014/03/26/coinkrypt/
My blog on cryptocoin mining malware that targets android smartphone and why its completely impractical.
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apdel
"The concept of any kind of botnet harnessing smartphones has in the past been
overlooked as some kind of pointless exercise - but considering the
alternative uses for smartphones could it be the next big thing on the
horizon, just waiting for the right person with the right brilliance to make
it happen? these little devices walk around collecting data on us, spewing our
information, and acting as GPS tracking devices .... perhaps not a botnet for
mining, but one that can locate a person on demand. Consider it similar to the
RFID id badge systems that let you know where an employee is in the building
at any time - but farther reaching. Take it to an extreme - knowing where a
victim is at any given time in order to time coordinate various acts of
hacking. "

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marcrogers
Oh I totally agree! We have already seen smartphone botnets for hire - for
example the Android malware known as notcompatible installs a proxy on devices
it infects. While right now it is being used to evade geographic anti-fraud
measures the reality is it is perfectly positioned to offer on-demand access
to enterprises or even specific people (assuming they get a wide enough
distribution of infected devices). Our smartphones are incredibly personal to
us and that means we take them everywhere. The potential rewards for someone
that manages to become an invisible passenger on a smartphone carried by a
high value intelligence asset will be HUGE.

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cjunky
Its interesting that since publishing this at least two other bits of
smartphone based mining malware has appeared.

clearly these malware authors have too much time on their hands I mean unless
you harness multiple thousands of smartphones together and make a bitcoin
mining smartphone botnet theres no way you can make enough money to make this
worthwhile.

It does speak to the entrepreneurial nature of malware authors though. Rather
than create more wallet stealers, these guys are constantly striving to find a
new "magic malware quadrant"

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marcrogers
I should point out, I'm the author of the blog so feel free to ask me anything
you want about CoinKrypt, Android malware or anything related.

