Philip Kwedza

Cryptojacking Detection on cloud infrastructure using network traffic

Supervisor: Mr S D Chindipha

Cryptomining is a way to obtain cryptocurrency by performing computationally complex puzzles in exchange for a reward. To accomplish this usually requires expensive specialised hardware to become profitable. So how does one make a profit off mining without the need for such hardware? The answer is Cryptojacking. Cryptojacking is a cybercrime where an attacker uses other people's devices to mine cryptocurrency without permission.

 As of late, there are plenty of solutions that protect personal devices, which has pushed attackers to less secure options. One of these options would be cryptojacking cloud servers. Cloud servers have virtually "unlimited" resources and can be more lucrative than cryptojacking personal devices, thus making them an attractive target for cryptojacking. This project focuses solely on the detection of cryptojacking within cloud servers.