Technology

Thursday Buzz: Watch Out for Cryptojacking

The latest website security concern, which jumps on the cryptocurrency craze, could be a big headache for users of WordPress or Drupal. Also: XDP gets going in a big way.

The nature of security risks facing organizations is constantly evolving, and the problems might look nothing like what they did even six months ago.

Case in point: Content management systems like WordPress and Drupal are increasingly becoming targets for attacks that have the goal of siphoning server resources to mine for cryptocurrency. The phenomenon, called “cryptojacking,” has become increasingly common. Last fall, attacks were being reported on WordPress sites; this week, an analysis by the SANS Technology Institute, a major cybersecurity researcher, uncovered attempts to do the same on Drupal sites.

The two platforms are among the most widely used for content management, so cryptojacking could prove a serious risk for associations that rely on them.

The result of these attacks is potentially twofold. They could lead to your servers wasting resources on cryptocurrency miners, and they could even lead to the spread of malware in individual users’ browsers. And with the financial incentive to these attacks clear, odds are they will become more sophisticated over time.

“Due to the lucrativeness of these schemes, they will continue to grow,” the website Cryptovest noted last year. “It was noted that although that attacks that attempt to embed cryptomining malware are currently unsophisticated, these attackers are thought to likely increase their skills just because of the money they stand to make.”

These incidents are great reminders as to why you need to keep your platforms up to date—as well as to keep an eye on the risks that could be hiding around the corner.

XDP Gets Going

The second year of ASAE’s Xperience Design Project, taking place in National Harbor, Maryland, on Thursday and Friday, is bound to wake up the senses—and then some. Keep an eye on the #myXDP hashtag to see highlights from the experience.

Other Links of Note

Why notifications are less annoying on Android devices than they are on iPhones, per The Verge.

What’s an UnExpo? Meetings designer and facilitator Adrian Segar looks into one attempt to freshen up the event experience.

According to CMSWire, the enterprise is bound to get a lot of mileage out of augmented reality and virtual reality. Here’s why.

(spainter_vfx/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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