How to detect cryptocurrency miners? By traffic forensics!

Abstract

Cryptocurrencies set a new trend for a financial interaction between people. In order to successfully meet this use-case, cryptocurrencies combine various advanced information technologies (e.g., blockchain as a replicated database, asymmetrical ciphers and hashes guaranteeing integrity properties, peer-to-peer networking providing fault-tolerant service). Mining process not only introduces new cryptocurrency units, but it has become a business how to generate revenue in real life. This paper aims at different approaches how to detect cryptocurrency mining within corporate networks (where it should not be present). Mining activity is often a sign of malware presence or unauthorized exploitation of company resources. The article provides an in-depth overview of pooled mining process including deployment and operational details. Two detection methods and their implementations are available for network administrators, law enforcement agents and the general public interested in cryptocurrency mining forensics.