STARBUCKS WIFI CAUGHT MINING CRYPTOCURRENCY – Mining Monero Without Your Knowledge

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STARBUCKS WIFI CAUGHT MINING CRYPTOCURRENCY – Mining Monero Without Your Knowledge

efforts to use visitor CPU to mine Monero in order to monetize its traffic and replace the ads on its pages. The torrent index website used Coinhive, a JavaScript code that allows website admins to mine the anonymity-centric cryptocurrency with visitor’s CPUs.

Ever since tested Coinhive on its website various actors starting using the code to take advantage of other people’s CPUs, leading to a Monero mining craze in which the code was even placed on Google Chrome extensions, and on a subscription streaming service called Fight Pass, belonging to mixed martial-arts powerhouse Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC).

The latest case of an organization using Coinhive’s code to mine Monero with people’s CPUs is that of a Starbucks in Buenos Aires, whose Wi-Fi provider forced a 10 second delay when connecting so it could mine the cryptocurrency with people’s laptops.

The issue was found by the chief executive of a New York-based tech company, Noah Dinkin, who noticed something was off when he was connecting to the service. He then used Twitter to share what he found:

Although Dinkin believed his laptop was being forced to mine bitcoin, users noted Coinhive only works with Monero, a cryptocurrency optimized for CPU mining that recently hit a new all-time high above $300, and that surged over 1,500% this year so far, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

A few days after Dinkin shared his findings on Twitter, Starbucks responded. The company acknowledged the issue and announced that it’s been resolved.

A spokesperson later on clarified that it was an isolated incident, and that the problem came from the internet service provider, not Starbucks. Speaking to Motherboard, the spokesperson added that Starbucks wants to ensure its customers are “able to search the internet over Wi-Fi securely,” and that as such the company works closely with its service provider.

Cybersecurity experts Don Smith, while speaking to the BBC, revealed that the incident shows public Wi-Fi users should ensure they used updated software, while staying on the lookout for suspicious activity. He stated:

“Always be wary when connecting to untrusted networks, public wi-fi hotspots are untrusted to you even if they are provided by a trusted brand (… ) Indeed, connecting to these networks gives the provider an ability to intercept your communications. However, we should not scaremonger unnecessarily, these can be useful services and the abuse of these services is definitely the exception not the rule.”

In a follow-up tweet, Dinkin revealed that the code was found in three separate Starbucks locations over multiple days, and that the internet service’s Terms of Service (TOS) didn’t mention the Monero mining code. Litecoin creator and former Coinbase executive Charlie Lee stated that he would be satisfied if the price of Litecoin remains in the $300 region by the end of 2018.

The statement of Lee came after the price of Litecoin increased by nearly five-fold since November. Monero Bitcoin Cryptocurrency “alt coin” “mine ethereum” Ethereum Starbucks “starbucks coffee” coinhive code mining CPU GPU “Graphics Card” laptop computer WiFi “Free WiFi” “Trade Bitcoin” “Trade Ethereum” Litecoin “Buy Bitcoin” internet Data 4G “Social Media” “Cloud Hashing” hashing money wealth investment “bitcoin investment” “stock market” IPO tech Technology store “accept bitcoin” In mid-November, on November 16, the price of Litecoin across major markets averaged at around $63. At the time of reporting, the price of Litecoin remains above $300.

“I would be happy if Litecoin stays at around $300 by the end of next year. It’s still very surprising how much it has grown this year,.” said Lee, offering a more conservative prediction on the price of Litecoin throughout the next 12 months.

Within 12 months, the value of Litecoin surged by more than 8,000 percent, outperforming most cryptocurrencies and assets in the market. Previously, Lee emphasized that after a strong rally almost always comes a bearish cycle and encouraged traders to invest responsibly.

“Every crypto bull run I’ve seen has been followed by a bear cycle. The market needs time to consolidate. That’s just my experience from 7 years of watching this space. How low and how long it will be is TBD. People need to be aware of this possibility and invest responsibly,” Lee added.

While Lee admitted that emerging markets such as South Korea have been pushing the price of leading cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, Ethereum, and Litecoin, such trend is not entirely beneficial for the cryptocurrency market given the lack of regulatory frameworks in emerging markets.

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Kane Dane