KingMiner Cryptocurrency Miner

KingMiner is a newly observed cryptocurrency miner that targets Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft SQL servers.

Threat ID:: CC-2827
Category:: Trojan
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:
Published:: 5 December 2018 12:00 AM

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

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Summary

KingMiner is a newly observed cryptocurrency miner that targets Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) and Microsoft SQL servers.

Threat details

At the time of publication, it is unclear how the malware is distributed. It is known that the malware will obtain the server's credentials via a brute force attack when it is executed. Following this, KingMiner will download a Windows Scriptlet file .sct, which will scan and detect the CPU architecture and download a tailored payload for the CPU.

KingMiner uses anti-detection techniques including payload obfuscation. KingMiner was designed to use 75% of CPU resources to avoid detection; however due to an error in its code, it uses 100% of CPU resources.

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	To prevent and detect a trojan infection, ensure that: 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, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date. Regular anti-virus and security scans are performed on your organisation’s estate. All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts. Strong password policies are in place. Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity. User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer. Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Type

Step

To prevent and detect a trojan infection, ensure that:

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, anti-virus and other security products are kept up-to-date.
Regular anti-virus and security scans are performed on your organisation’s estate.
All day-to-day computer activities such as email and internet are performed using non-administrative accounts.
Strong password policies are in place.
Network, proxy and firewall logs should be monitored for suspicious activity.
User accounts accessed from affected devices should be reset on a clean computer.
Your organisation adopts a holistic all-round approach to Cyber Security as advocated by the 10 Steps to Cyber Security.

Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:58 pm