{ "family": "cryptominer", "sample_count": 1, "category": "trojan", "description": "

Executive Summary

\n\"Cryptominer\" (often flagged as Riskware.CoinMiner, Trojan.Miner, or PUA.Miner) is a generic detection classification for software that utilizes the infected host's computing resources (CPU or GPU) to solve complex cryptographic equations, thereby \"mining\" cryptocurrency (most commonly Monero) for the benefit of the attacker. This process is known as \"Cryptojacking.\"\n\n

Technical Architecture and Capabilities

\nCryptominers can be distributed as standalone executables (Trojans), bundled within Potentially Unwanted Programs (PUPs), or even executed entirely within a web browser via malicious JavaScript (Web-based Cryptojacking).\n\nKey behavioral characteristics include:\n\n\n

Threat Impact

\nWhile cryptominers typically do not steal data or encrypt files, they cause severe operational degradation. The extreme load on the hardware leads to system freezing, application crashes, increased power consumption, and significantly reduced hardware lifespans due to thermal stress. Furthermore, a miner on a corporate network indicates a fundamental breach of endpoint security.\n\n

Incident Response and Advanced Analysis

\n", "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.", "aliases": [ "Riskware.CoinMiner", "Trojan.Miner", "PUA.Miner" ], "enrichment_level": "expert-seo", "faq": [ { "@type": "Question", "name": "What is Cryptominer and what threat category does it belong to?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Cryptominer is classified as a Trojan. Documented across security telemetry, it is engineered to execute unauthorized operations, establish persistent footholds on target endpoints, and facilitate malicious campaigns targeting enterprise and individual environments." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How does Cryptominer establish persistence and evade defensive controls?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Cryptominer typically establishes persistence through registry run keys, scheduled tasks, or service installations, while evading signature-based antivirus solutions through code obfuscation, memory injection, or anti-analysis sandbox checks." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What are the essential incident response steps for mitigating a Cryptominer compromise?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Security teams responding to Cryptominer should immediately isolate affected endpoints from the network, perform memory triage to capture volatile forensic artifacts, audit registry and startup persistence mechanisms, revoke exposed user credentials, and restore systems from verified, clean backups." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "What secondary payloads and staging behaviors are commonly associated with Riskware.CoinMiner?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Riskware.CoinMiner frequently operates as a loader or dropper designed to establish a foothold before downloading and executing secondary high-impact malware payloads. Depending on the threat actor's objectives, these dropped modules can range from ransomware and banking injects to modular infostealers and remote management backdoors." } }, { "@type": "Question", "name": "How can security operations teams effectively detect and hunt for Riskware.CoinMiner across enterprise endpoints?", "acceptedAnswer": { "@type": "Answer", "text": "Defenders should hunt for Riskware.CoinMiner by deploying behavioral endpoint detection and response (EDR) rules that monitor suspicious process spawning (such as cmd.exe or powershell.exe spawned from office documents or temporary directories), anomalous outbound network connections from non-browser binaries, and unauthorized modifications to Windows Run keys and scheduled task registries." } } ], "faq_count": 5, "mitre_attack": [ "T1496", "T1059", "T1562.001" ], "cisa_advisory": null, "last_updated": "2026-10-15", "type": "Cryptominer", "target_industries": [ "Global / Opportunistic" ], "motivation": "Opportunistic", "threat_actors": [ "Unknown / Cybercriminal" ], "target_geographies": [ "Global" ], "attack_stage": [ "execution", "persistence" ], "ecosystem": [ "windows_pe" ], "is_emerging": false, "mitre_attack_detail": [ { "id": "T1496", "name": "Resource Hijacking (The core function of mining Monero cryptocurrency)", "tactic": "Impact" }, { "id": "T1059", "name": "Command and Scripting Interpreter", "tactic": "Execution" }, { "id": "T1562.001", "name": "Impair Defenses: Disable or Modify Tools", "tactic": "Defense Evasion" } ], "containment_steps": [ "Sever network connectivity for the flagged endpoint to terminate persistent command-and-control (C2) communication channels and stop Cryptominer from retrieving secondary stage payloads.", "Capture process memory triage to detect and terminate malicious threads injected by Cryptominer into legitimate system processes such as explorer.exe or svchost.exe.", "Audit Windows Registry Run keys (HKCU\\Software\\Microsoft\\Windows\\CurrentVersion\\Run) and Task Scheduler entries to locate and purge Cryptominer persistence hooks.", "Deploy updated enterprise EDR detection signatures and conduct an out-of-band endpoint scan to isolate dropped binaries and staged payloads.", "Rotate all credentials, domain user passwords, and session cookies active on the system during the Cryptominer execution timeframe." ], "what_to_avoid": [ "Do not assume the incident is resolved simply because an antivirus tool removed the initial Cryptominer dropper; always verify that secondary payloads and persistence hooks have been eradicated.", "Avoid logging in with Domain Admin or privileged credentials on a machine suspected of running Cryptominer until memory triage is complete.", "Do not delay host isolation; automated lateral movement and credential dumping can occur within minutes of initial execution." ], "target_platforms": [ "Windows 11", "Windows 10", "Windows 7" ] }