Intel, Microsoft Beef Up Customers’ Cryptojacking Defenses

Microsoft and Intel are working together to more quickly and effectively identify and remediate cryptojacking threats for users, Intel said Monday.

• Cryptojacking is the illegal use of another person or entity’s computer to mine cryptocurrency, often deployed through malware or compromised websites.
• Intel’s new technology aims to more accurately detect malware regardless of the malicious code’s obfuscation techniques.
• “This is a true inflection point for the security industry,” Intel’s Michael Nordquist, senior director of Strategic Planning and Architecture, said in a statement. “The scale of this CPU-based threat detection rollout across customer systems is unmatched and helps close gaps in corporate defenses.”
• Microsoft cited research findings that coin-mining malware attacks increased 53% in the fourth quarter of 2020 compared to the third quarter.
• Other research suggests cryptojacking has declined as crypto prices have surged in 2021.