cryptojacking

A lot of things in todays world makes me feel "old" but few things make me feel older than the concept of crypto-currencies and this latest thing, "crypto-jacking." I just do not get it. How can you hack a computer and mine crypto-currency? What the actual fuck?

Hackers hijack Tesla’s cloud system to mine cryptocurrency

by Ryan Browne of CNBC

• Tesla's Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud account was compromised by hackers and used for cryptocurrency mining, RedLock said.
• Other major firms, including Aviva and Gemalto, were affected by similar problems.
• This incident marks another case of what is known in the cryptocurrency world as "cryptojacking."
• Tesla said that it did not see any initial impact on customer data protection or the safety and security of its vehicles.

Tesla's cloud system was hijacked by hackers who used it to mine cryptocurrency, according to researchers.

Hackers were able to infiltrate the automaker's Kubernetes administration console because it was not password protected, cybersecurity firm RedLock said Tuesday. Kubernetes is a Google-designed system aimed at optimizing cloud applications.

This left access credentials for Tesla's Amazon Web Services (AWS) account exposed, and hackers deployed cryptocurrency mining software called Stratum to mine cryptocurrency using the cloud's computing power.

Cryptocurrency mining is a process whereby so-called miners solve complex mathematical problems to validate a transaction and add it to the underlying network. RedLock did not specify which cryptocurrency was mined in the cyber breach.

This incident marks another case of what is known in the cryptocurrency world as "cryptojacking."

Cryptojacking is a process whereby hackers deploy software that exploits a computer's CPU (central processing unit) to mine cryptocurrency.

Earlier this month, it was revealed that hackers had deployed an altered version of the popular plugin Browsealoud to a number of government websites in the U.K., the U.S. and Australia.

This version of Browsealoud infected the government websites with Coinhive code, which is used to generate units of privacy-focused cryptocurrency monero.

U.S. online news outlet Salon is even asking visitors to its site who use ad blocking plugins if it can use their computing power to mine monero instead.

Uh, what? The rest at the original.