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Home / Business

Starbucks Wi-Fi caught mining for bitcoin

news.com.au
13 Dec, 2017 05:55 PM3 mins to read

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Starbucks says the issue has been resolved. Picture / AP.

Starbucks says the issue has been resolved. Picture / AP.

Did you know that when you're logging into the Wi-Fi at Starbucks, you could have code installed on your laptop that is used to mine for bitcoin.

This is what recently happened to one man who stumbled across the code after joining the store's Wi-Fi.

The complaint was addressed by Starbucks, with the company saying the issue has since been resolved.

Despite the initial concerns, a Starbucks spokesman said the problem was with the internet service provider and not with the franchise itself.

"Last week, we were alerted to the issue and we reached out to our internet service provider — the Wi-Fi is not run by Starbucks, it's not something we own or control," the spokesman told Motherboard.

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"We want to ensure that our customers are able to search the internet over Wi-Fi securely, so we will always work closely with our service provider when something like this comes up.

"We don't have any concern that this is widespread across any of our stores."

The act of Bitcoin mining is becoming more common, with hackers hijacking computer processors to search for cryptocurrency not being traded on the open market.

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Websites such as Showtime, the official UFC streaming website and the official merchandise website for Suburu have recently been victim to these attacks.

Additionly, websites are also putting the code in themselves as an extra way to earn money — The Pirate Bay is one such example.

As the CEO of a company that uses blockchain technology to transfer money, Michael Dunworth said even if you don't have Bitcoin, hackers will use the power of your processor for an algorithm used to find digital currencies anywhere in the world.

"If you wanted to mine Bitcoin, you'd need a massive warehouse full of computers to have much success, so this is a much easier way for hackers to get access to cryptocurrency," he told news.com.au.

Discover more

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Aussie central bank mulls setting up cryptocurrency

14 Dec 04:58 AM
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Hackers infiltrate test scores of students

19 Dec 06:48 AM

CTO of Symantec Pacific Region Nick Savvides said the best way to avoid hackers hijacking your computer's processor to mine for coins was to ensure your security software up to date.

"These tools will often block the code from running, the sites that run it and the sites that distribute it," he said.

"If you notice your computer getting very slow when browsing a site, it may be a sign that they are using a browser miner.

"Clear your browser cache and scan your computer for threats."

To avoid using extremely expensive servers, hackers are putting a script on popular websites, which infect the computers of those visiting.

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