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Massive Cyberattack on Australia Uses Cryptojacking Exploits

According to the Australian Cyber Security Centre, a group of “state actors” hacked Australian networks on June 19 and one of the vulnerabilities they exploited is related to cryptojacking malware attacks.

As per a report, the threat actors utilized four crucial vulnerabilities in Telerik UI, including CVE-2019-18935, which was influenced by the Blue Mockingbird malware gang to damage thousands of systems with a Monero (XMR) mining software called XMRRig.

It was not mentioned if hackers had installed cryptojacking malware during the recent cyberattack, such susceptibility is preferred by cybercriminals for the installation of crypto-mining applications within the corporate systems. 

The vulnerability of CVE-2019-18935 has been explained by the report, which is also similar to the ones on the Blue Mockingbird’s attack, although it doesn’t suggest that such a gang participated in the cyberattack against Australia.

About 10 Chinese hacker groups – took part in espionage activities and reportedly have links with the Chinese government – have PlugX malware along with their weapons, which was one of the malware identified in the report of the Australian government.

According to some Australian officials, China could be responsible for the massive cyberattack, as the diplomatic issues have been increasing between the two countries. It was claimed that the attack could have come after Australia sought for an investigation on the origins of the Coronavirus, something that was not well-received the dragon nation officials, as they considered it a “discriminatory” allegation and responded with trade retaliation against the Oceanic country.

The Chinese government has rejected the claims.