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Bitcoin in chaos: Trojan and knockoffs spreading

China.org.cn, December 2, 2013

• Many Bitcoin-mining Trojans have popped up following the recent craze for the virtual currency, which can be exchanged by users without the need for a central bank or payment processing service. Additionally, there are many knockoffs that have been mined illegally as a result of Bitcoin's rise.

  One IT-pro threw out a computer hard drive when he was clearing up his desk in mid-summer and discovered the part, taken from a defunct Dell laptop. "He then realized that it held a digital wallet with 7,500 Bitcoins created for almost nothing in 2009," according to an article in The Guardian last week.

  Virtual currencies, such as Bitcoin and Litecoin, can be stored in a hard drive digital wallet. Subsequently, if the hard drive is lost or a back up file appears unavailable, disaster will ensue. Accordingly, there are many types of malicious software (malware) designed to take control of any given hard drive.

  Cryptolocker malware is making a lot of money from the Bitcoin's popularity. It scrambles user files and demands money in return for the encryption key. Users are required to pay US$ 300 to obtain the decryption key and save their files; otherwise, they shall remain locked forever.

  The number of viruses and Trojans that can take control of infected machines, and force them to manage Bitcoin-mining, is also on the rise. Both a Trojan virus and malware are designed for mining the currency because of its recent high value; the Bitcoin has been on a price surge. One Bitcoin-exchange, Tokyo-based Mt. Gox, on Wednesday showed a value of US$1,061, up from less than US$14 at the beginning of the year.

  Transactions of many other virtual currencies are driven by the enthusiasm for the Bitcoin and some 80 other digital currencies are now available.

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