A resident of Svetlahorsk earned money for several years through a covert cryptocurrency mining operation. More than 500 computers were connected to his network.
As the Interior Ministry reports, the 35-year-old man embedded cryptocurrency mining malware into torrent files. After being downloaded, the program would launch on a user’s computer without their knowledge and use the CPU to mine cryptocurrency, significantly slowing the device’s performance. Restarting the computer did not stop the malware.
At the time of his detention, the virus was exploiting more than 500 computers in Belarus and neighboring countries. The suspect was earning about 1,000 rubles per month from the mining operation. Authorities are identifying all affected victims.
A criminal case has been opened.
