
加密劫持(Cryptojacking)是指攻击者在未经用户授权的情况下,利用恶意软件或代码劫持受害者的计算设备资源,进行加密货币挖矿活动的一种网络攻击行为。这种攻击通常通过植入恶意脚本、感染浏览器插件或利用系统漏洞实现,使受害者的CPU、GPU等硬件资源被秘密用于挖掘门罗币(Monero)、以太坊等数字资产,而攻击者则获得挖矿收益。加密劫持已成为网络安全领域的重要威胁,其隐蔽性强、成本低廉的特点使其在全球范围内快速蔓延,对个人用户、企业服务器乃至云计算平台都构成严重风险。
Cryptojacking refers to a cyberattack where attackers hijack victims' computing device resources without authorization, using malicious software or code to conduct cryptocurrency mining activities. This attack typically operates through implanted malicious scripts, infected browser plugins, or exploitation of system vulnerabilities, secretly utilizing victims' hardware resources such as CPU and GPU to mine digital assets like Monero and Ethereum, while attackers collect the mining profits. Cryptojacking has become a significant threat in cybersecurity, with its strong concealment and low-cost characteristics enabling rapid global proliferation, posing serious risks to individual users, enterprise servers, and cloud computing platforms alike.
加密劫持的核心特征在于其隐蔽性与非授权性,攻击者通过多种技术手段实现对目标设备的资源占用。从技术实现角度看,加密劫持主要分为基于浏览器的挖矿脚本和基于恶意软件的持久化攻击两类。前者通过在网页中嵌入JavaScript挖矿代码(如Coinhive等),当用户访问被感染网站时自动运行,浏览器关闭后即停止;后者则通过木马、蠕虫等恶意程序感染操作系统,实现长期驻留和持续挖矿。在攻击目标选择上,攻击者倾向于选择配置较高的服务器、云平台实例或拥有大量访问流量的网站,以最大化挖矿效率。技术层面上,现代加密劫持攻击常采用代码混淆、进程伪装、反调试等对抗技术,使安全软件难以检测。部分高级攻击还会动态调整资源占用率,避免触发系统性能监控告警,进一步增强隐蔽性。
The core characteristics of cryptojacking lie in its concealment and unauthorized nature, with attackers employing various technical methods to occupy target device resources. From a technical implementation perspective, cryptojacking primarily divides into browser-based mining scripts and malware-based persistent attacks. The former embeds JavaScript mining code (such as Coinhive) into web pages, automatically running when users visit infected websites and stopping when browsers close; the latter infects operating systems through trojans, worms, and other malicious programs, achieving long-term residence and continuous mining. In target selection, attackers prefer high-configuration servers, cloud platform instances, or websites with substantial traffic to maximize mining efficiency. Technically, modern cryptojacking attacks often employ code obfuscation, process masquerading, and anti-debugging techniques, making detection by security software difficult. Some advanced attacks dynamically adjust resource utilization rates to avoid triggering system performance monitoring alarms, further enhancing concealment.
加密劫持对加密货币生态和网络安全市场产生了深远影响。从经济层面看,这种攻击行为导致全球范围内数十亿美元的计算资源被非法占用,受害者承担高额电费和硬件损耗成本,而攻击者则以极低成本获得加密货币收益。根据网络安全研究机构统计,2017-2018年加密劫持攻击激增超过400%,成为当时最流行的网络攻击形式之一,直接推动了隐私币种(如门罗币)的算力增长。在技术生态方面,加密劫持的泛滥促使浏览器厂商和安全公司加强防御机制,Chrome、Firefox等主流浏览器相继屏蔽挖矿脚本,网络安全行业也开发出专门的反加密劫持检测工具。对于云计算和托管服务提供商而言,加密劫持攻击导致资源滥用和服务质量下降,迫使行业加强账户审计、异常流量监控等安全措施。此外,这种攻击形式也引发了监管机构对加密货币非法使用场景的关注,部分国家开始制定针对性的法律条款,将未经授权的加密挖矿行为明确定义为网络犯罪。
Cryptojacking has generated profound impacts on the cryptocurrency ecosystem and cybersecurity market. From an economic perspective, this attack behavior has led to billions of dollars worth of computing resources being illegally occupied globally, with victims bearing high electricity costs and hardware depreciation expenses while attackers obtain cryptocurrency profits at extremely low costs. According to cybersecurity research institutions, cryptojacking attacks surged over 400% during 2017-2018, becoming one of the most prevalent cyberattack forms at that time, directly driving hash rate growth for privacy coins like Monero. In the technical ecosystem, the proliferation of cryptojacking prompted browser manufacturers and security companies to strengthen defense mechanisms, with mainstream browsers like Chrome and Firefox successively blocking mining scripts, while the cybersecurity industry developed specialized anti-cryptojacking detection tools. For cloud computing and hosting service providers, cryptojacking attacks cause resource abuse and service quality degradation, forcing the industry to strengthen account auditing, abnormal traffic monitoring, and other security measures. Additionally, this attack form has attracted regulatory attention to illegal cryptocurrency usage scenarios, with some countries beginning to formulate targeted legal provisions explicitly defining unauthorized crypto mining as cybercrime.
加密劫持对受害者和整个数字生态构成多层次风险。对个人用户而言,最直接的影响是设备性能急剧下降,CPU占用率持续高企导致系统卡顿、过热甚至硬件损坏,同时电费支出显著增加。企业环境中,加密劫持不仅消耗服务器资源影响业务运行,还可能作为攻击链的一部分,为更严重的数据窃取、勒索软件攻击打开入口。云计算用户面临的风险尤为突出,攻击者可能利用被劫持的云实例快速扩散,形成大规模僵尸网络,导致巨额账单和服务中断。从检测角度看,加密劫持的识别存在技术挑战,许多挖矿程序采用合法进程名称伪装,且资源占用率可动态调整,传统基于签名的检测方法难以奏效。法律层面,加密劫持的跨境性质和匿名加密货币的使用使得追踪和起诉攻击者极为困难,大多数案件无法定罪。此外,部分攻击利用合法网站的供应链漏洞(如第三方广告脚本、开源库投毒)传播,使网站运营者在不知情的情况下成为攻击传播者,带来法律责任和声誉风险。对于加密货币项目方而言,过度的非法挖矿活动可能损害币种声誉,促使部分项目调整共识算法以抵抗劫持挖矿。
Cryptojacking poses multi-layered risks to victims and the entire digital ecosystem. For individual users, the most direct impact is sharp device performance degradation, with sustained high CPU utilization causing system lag, overheating, or even hardware damage, while electricity expenses increase significantly. In enterprise environments, cryptojacking not only consumes server resources affecting business operations but may also serve as part of an attack chain, opening entry points for more serious data theft and ransomware attacks. Cloud computing users face particularly prominent risks, as attackers may rapidly spread using hijacked cloud instances, forming large-scale botnets that lead to massive bills and service disruptions. From a detection perspective, identifying cryptojacking presents technical challenges, as many mining programs masquerade under legitimate process names with dynamically adjustable resource utilization rates, rendering traditional signature-based detection methods ineffective. Legally, the cross-border nature of cryptojacking and the use of anonymous cryptocurrencies make tracking and prosecuting attackers extremely difficult, with most cases resulting in no convictions. Additionally, some attacks spread through supply chain vulnerabilities in legitimate websites (such as third-party advertising scripts and open-source library poisoning), causing website operators to unknowingly become attack propagators, bringing legal liability and reputational risks. For cryptocurrency projects, excessive illegal mining activities may damage coin reputations, prompting some projects to adjust consensus algorithms to resist hijacking mining.
加密劫持已成为数字时代不可忽视的网络安全威胁,其低成本、高隐蔽性的特点使攻击者能够大规模窃取计算资源,给个人用户、企业和云服务提供商带来严重经济损失和技术挑战。这种攻击形式不仅推动了加密货币非法使用场景的扩张,也促使安全行业和监管机构不断完善防御体系与法律框架。对于加密生态而言,遏制加密劫持需要技术创新、行业协作和用户安全意识的共同提升,只有通过多层次防御和有效追责机制,才能维护数字资产系统的健康发展和用户权益的有效保护。
Cryptojacking has become an unavoidable cybersecurity threat in the digital age, with its low-cost and highly concealed characteristics enabling attackers to steal computing resources on a massive scale, causing serious economic losses and technical challenges for individual users, enterprises, and cloud service providers. This attack form not only drives the expansion of illegal cryptocurrency usage scenarios but also prompts the security industry and regulatory authorities to continuously improve defense systems and legal frameworks. For the crypto ecosystem, curbing cryptojacking requires the collective enhancement of technological innovation, industry collaboration, and user security awareness. Only through multi-layered defense and effective accountability mechanisms can the healthy development of digital asset systems and effective protection of user rights be maintained.


