Saturday, April 17, 2021
  • Setup menu at Appearance » Menus and assign menu to Top Bar Navigation
Advertisement
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News
No Result
View All Result
NikolaNews
No Result
View All Result
Home Internet Security

Bug hunter finds cryptocurrency-mining botnet on DOD network

February 6, 2020
in Internet Security
Bug hunter finds cryptocurrency-mining botnet on DOD network
585
SHARES
3.3k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Image: Dmitry Moraine

A security researcher hunting for bug bounties discovered last month that a cryptocurrency-mining botnet had found a home and burrowed inside a web server operated by the US Department of Defense (DOD).

The issue was discovered and reported via the DOD’s official bug bounty program by Indian security researcher Nitesh Surana.

You might also like

Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching

Cyberattack on UK university knocks out online learning, Teams and Zoom

Google backs new security standard for smartphone VPN apps

Initially, the bug report was filed in relation to a misconfigured Jenkins automation server running on an Amazon Web Services (AWS) server associated with a DOD domain.

Surana discovered that anyone could access the Jenkins server without login credentials.

Full access was apparently possible, including to the filesystem. Surana says the /script folder, part of the Jenkins installation, was also open to anyone.

This folder is where users upload files which the Jenkins server reads and executes automatically at regular intervals.

Surana informed the DOD that an attacker could upload malicious files inside this folder and install a permanent backdoor or take over the entire server.

Server already hacked before researcher’s report

The DOD secured the vulnerable server, but when revisiting his findings, Surana also realized that the Jenkins server had already been compromised even before he found it.

The researcher said he tracked down the clues he found to a malware operation specialized in hacking cloud servers and installing Monero-mining malware.

ZDNet searched for the Monero wallet address that this botnet was using to collect funds. Google results show tens of mentions of this address going back as far as August 2018.

Most mentions are from Chinese users, who reported finding a Monero miner on their cloud servers [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6].

Using the XMRHunter service, we found that the Monero address currently holds 35.4 Monero coins, worth just over $2.700. However, past funds could have been withdrawn to other accounts at regular intervals, so we can’t accurately estimate this botnet’s operation just on this address.

DOD runs a bug bounty program on HackerOne

Surana reported his findings through the DOD’s official bug bounty program, hosted on the HackerOne platform.

The DOD has been running a bug bounty program for years.

The most recent DOD bug-hunting drive ended last month, during which the department paid $275,000 to security researchers for their work in finding bugs in US Army-related web servers.

Due to the sensitive nature of the DOD infrastructure, Surana’s report was redacted to remove the name and URL of the DOD server that was compromised by the coin-mining botnet. The researcher told ZDNet he was not awarded a bounty for his report, but this was one of the rare cases where a researcher’s findings were made public.

Happy Friday hackers! Nitesh @ideaengine007 found a critical RCE vulnerability in Jenkins that led us to discover a Bitcoin mining service running on a DoD website 😲. Head over to the disclosed report to see all the details! Thanks for being 🔥 Niteshhttps://t.co/YywrVZu2Uc

— DC3 VDP (@DC3VDP) January 31, 2020


Credit: Zdnet

Previous Post

5 High Impact Flaws Affect Cisco Routers, Switches, IP Phones and Cameras

Next Post

Remote Teams: Benefits, Challenges, Tools to Stay in Sync

Related Posts

Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching
Internet Security

Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching

April 17, 2021
Cyberattack on UK university knocks out online learning, Teams and Zoom
Internet Security

Cyberattack on UK university knocks out online learning, Teams and Zoom

April 17, 2021
Google backs new security standard for smartphone VPN apps
Internet Security

Google backs new security standard for smartphone VPN apps

April 16, 2021
Mozilla to start disabling FTP next week with removal set for Firefox 90
Internet Security

Mozilla to start disabling FTP next week with removal set for Firefox 90

April 16, 2021
Swinburne University confirms over 5,000 individuals affected in data breach
Internet Security

Swinburne University confirms over 5,000 individuals affected in data breach

April 16, 2021
Next Post
Remote Teams: Benefits, Challenges, Tools to Stay in Sync

Remote Teams: Benefits, Challenges, Tools to Stay in Sync

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recommended

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

Plasticity in Deep Learning: Dynamic Adaptations for AI Self-Driving Cars

January 6, 2019
Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

Microsoft, Google Use Artificial Intelligence to Fight Hackers

January 6, 2019

Categories

  • Artificial Intelligence
  • Big Data
  • Blockchain
  • Crypto News
  • Data Science
  • Digital Marketing
  • Internet Privacy
  • Internet Security
  • Learn to Code
  • Machine Learning
  • Marketing Technology
  • Neural Networks
  • Technology Companies

Don't miss it

Monitor Your SEO Placement with SEObase
Learn to Code

Monitor Your SEO Placement with SEObase

April 17, 2021
Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching
Internet Security

Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching

April 17, 2021
Teslafan, a Blockchain-Powered Machine Learning Technology Project, Receives Investment Prior to the ICO
Machine Learning

Teslafan, a Blockchain-Powered Machine Learning Technology Project, Receives Investment Prior to the ICO

April 17, 2021
The “Blue Brain” Project-A mission to build a simulated Brain | by The A.I. Thing | Mar, 2021
Neural Networks

The “Blue Brain” Project-A mission to build a simulated Brain | by The A.I. Thing | Mar, 2021

April 17, 2021
A new collective to fight adtech fraud: Friday’s daily brief
Digital Marketing

A new collective to fight adtech fraud: Friday’s daily brief

April 17, 2021
Cyberattack on UK university knocks out online learning, Teams and Zoom
Internet Security

Cyberattack on UK university knocks out online learning, Teams and Zoom

April 17, 2021
NikolaNews

NikolaNews.com is an online News Portal which aims to share news about blockchain, AI, Big Data, and Data Privacy and more!

What’s New Here?

  • Monitor Your SEO Placement with SEObase April 17, 2021
  • Google Project Zero testing 30-day grace period on bug details to boost user patching April 17, 2021
  • Teslafan, a Blockchain-Powered Machine Learning Technology Project, Receives Investment Prior to the ICO April 17, 2021
  • The “Blue Brain” Project-A mission to build a simulated Brain | by The A.I. Thing | Mar, 2021 April 17, 2021

Subscribe to get more!

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates

No Result
View All Result
  • AI Development
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Machine Learning
    • Neural Networks
    • Learn to Code
  • Data
    • Blockchain
    • Big Data
    • Data Science
  • IT Security
    • Internet Privacy
    • Internet Security
  • Marketing
    • Digital Marketing
    • Marketing Technology
  • Technology Companies
  • Crypto News

© 2019 NikolaNews.com - Global Tech Updates