Starbucks WiFi using User's PC to Mine Cryptocurrency
We all know very well that there are already several known cases of sites that came up with code applied to take advantage of visitors’ resources to mine cryptocurrencies. However, according to the latest reports, Starbucks Wi-Fi used customer’s computer to mine cryptocurrency.
The invention of a mysterious computer guru, who referred to his pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, this coin is created by means of a very complex mathematical formula.
As we told earlier that in recent time we saw a great increase in the cryptocurrencies and specifically Bitcoin. However, the race for the mining of this “new” money is creating a huge bubble, according to some experts in the currency markets, which distorts reality. But mining also brings new types of crime.
Illegal methods, obscure schemes, have been found to have thirds to mine these crypto-coins. Now one of these schemes has been discovered using open Wi-Fi networks and more.
There are already several known cases of sites that came up with code applied to take advantage of visitors’ resources to mine money for their own benefit. The best known of them came from The Pirate Bay, something that ended up not being welcomed by users, even with the justification given.
The most recent case has been reported via Twitter and reports that a store in Buenos Aires, Argentina, of the famous Starbucks chain is using the users of its open and free Wi-Fi network to mine Monero, using the CoinHive code in its website rewards.
The code was found on the access page to this service, which retained the users for 10 seconds, taking advantage of that time to put them to mine Monero, then forward them to the Starbucks page.
Of course, during these 10 seconds, the users did not know that they were contributing to this mining and they thought to be just a simple counter for the redirection to happen.
Reference: https://techviral.net/starbucks-wi-fi-used-mine-cryptocurrency/
https://www.dailydot.com/debug/starbucks-cryptocurrency/