Smominru and WannaMine Cryptominer Botnets

A new malware has been observed that aims to enrol devices into botnets, known alternatively as Smominru (MyKings) or WannaMine, for the purpose of mining cryptocurrency.

Threat ID:: CC-2023
Category:: Botnet
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:: Exploit
Published:: 8 February 2018 12:00 AM

Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

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Summary

A new malware has been observed that aims to enrol devices into botnets, known alternatively as Smominru (MyKings) or WannaMine, for the purpose of mining cryptocurrency.

Affected platforms

The following platforms are known to be affected:

Microsoft Windows

Microsoft Windows - All versions

Threat details

Smominru and WannaMine are very similar, with only slight differences during operation. Both are fileless, exisiting in memory and using the Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) scripting application to maintain persistence across reboots. They both use the EternalBlue SMB exploit for delivery and propagation. WannaMine will deploy the Mimikatz credential harvester before moving to another device.

Unlike other cryptomining malware, Smominru/WannaMine heavily impact a system's resources. The attackers behind them appear to prefer mining as fast as possible, overusing the CPU to the point that the system may crash.

Remediation advice

To avoid botnet infection:

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails. All operating systems, antivirus and other security products are kept up to date. All day to day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged. Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity. User accounts accessed from infected machines should be reset on a clean computer. Additionally, users should monitor their running processes and system resources, particularly CPU usage, to determine whether they are being used for cryptomining.

Type

Step

A robust program of education and awareness training is delivered to users to ensure they don’t open attachments or follow links within unsolicited emails.
All operating systems, antivirus and other security products are kept up to date.
All day to day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place and password reuse is discouraged.
Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.
User accounts accessed from infected machines should be reset on a clean computer.

Additionally, users should monitor their running processes and system resources, particularly CPU usage, to determine whether they are being used for cryptomining.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:55 pm