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It’s no secret that ever since businesses and people started using cloud computing to save equipment costs and become more flexible, threat actors have also implemented measures to hack people’s cloud computing environment and use it to mine cryptocurrency. Now, in an effort to solve this issue, Google Cloud will not only start offering its Security Command Center Premium users a new antivirus service which will scan the virtual machine memory for mining malware but also offer up to $1 million in coverage for costs incurred during such attacks.
This decision follows a report published by the Google Cybersecurity Action Team in September 2022, which revealed that a concerning 65% of cases involving compromised cloud accounts were linked to hackers gaining unauthorized access to computing environments and silently deploying mining malware to generate digital currencies.
Additionally, earlier this year, researchers also discovered a sophisticated mining botnet called HeadCrab, which infected over 1,200 servers across various countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, India, Malaysia, and China, to mine the Monero cryptocurrency. And based on the estimates, hackers were able to earn $4,500 per compromised server.
“Cryptomining attacks continue to be a serious security and financial issue for organizations who do not have the right preventative controls and threat detection capabilities in their cloud environments,” said Philip Bues, a cloud security expert for market research firm IDC.
How would the system work?
In the event that a hacker bypasses Google’s detection mechanisms and proceeds to run crypto-mining software on a user’s cloud account, Google will take responsibility for the customer’s expenses and cover up to $1 million, significantly relieving the financial burden for affected users. Moreover, Google’s decision not to use agents will aid in effectively identifying attacks that might evade bolt-on security tools by relying on cloud log analysis and API data. However, it is important to note that this protection program only applies to users employing mining software and does not encompass Bitcoin mining.
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