Gafgyt Botnet Strikes Again: Your Weak SSH Passwords Are Now Mining Monero!

Gafgyt botnet is back with a twist! This time, it’s brute-forcing weak SSH passwords to harness GPU power for cryptocurrency mining. With over 30 million vulnerable SSH servers out there, it’s time to secure your instances—or risk becoming an unintentional crypto-farmer!

Hot Take:

Just when you thought your GPUs were safe from the crypto-mining craze, an old botnet from 2014 has decided to make a glamorous comeback! Forget DDoS, Gafgyt is all about that Monero now. Maybe it just wanted to fit in with the cool kids in the cloud-native environment.

Key Points:

  • A new Gafgyt botnet variant is targeting weak SSH passwords to mine cryptocurrency using GPU power.
  • Gafgyt has been active since 2014, known for exploiting weak credentials and security flaws in various devices.
  • Originally used for DDoS attacks, this variant focuses on crypto mining, particularly Monero.
  • The botnet uses a Go-based SSH scanner to spread and terminate competing malware on compromised hosts.
  • Over 30 million publicly accessible SSH servers are potential targets, emphasizing the need for strong security measures.

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