Technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, making it harder for people to identify threats online and protect themselves from instances of cybercrime. One type of cybercrime that is gaining in popularity is cryptojacking. This is due to the ease of finding targets as well as being inexpensive for the hacker to deploy. While cryptojacking does not seem like much of a threat to worry about, it can actually cause quite a bit of damage. Let us look at a theoretical case of a consumer falling victim to crypto mining malware and how he sought justice.
John Doe recently purchased a new gaming computer to be able to play the hottest new game with his friends online. In order to save money and space in his game room, he opted to purchase the game online via download from a website he found that listed the game for cheaper than official gaming channels. Once he put in his information, he downloaded the game and started playing.
A few weeks go by and John Doe notices that his computer is slowing down noticeably. Thinking nothing of it, he continued to play his video games until his computer randomly shut off and would not turn back on. After taking it to the local computer repair store, he was informed that his computer had been burnt out, likely caused by mining malware found on his computer. After researching mining malware and cryptojacking, John Doe reached out to a local digital forensics company with the help of his attorney to gather evidence and possibly find the responsible party.
The forensics company was able to extract and analyze the data on the gaming computer. After analyzing the data on the computer, they were able to trace it back to the responsible party and provide admissible evidence. Thanks to digital forensics, John Doe was able to legally pursue that party in court. With admissible evidence like this, the chances that justice will be served for the damages are increased.
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