Google says hackers are targeting its cloud users and using their accounts for cryptocurrency mining.
In its November 2021 report called “Threat Horizons,” the search giant identified 50 compromised accounts in the Google Cloud Platform.
Of these accounts, 86 percent were found to be engaged in crypto mining activity. Ten percent of accounts were used for port scanning to look for more online targets to compromise. Some others were used for launching attacks, hosting malware, and sending spam.
Google attributed vulnerable third-party software that account owners installed, as well as poor security practices, as to how the miners were able to hijack 75 percent of the accounts.
These unauthorized, resource-intensive activities can create a huge financial setback for Cloud users, who pay for access to the platform’s computing power. Google is encouraging its Cloud users to conduct security countermeasures to protect their accounts, such as two-step verification, web security scanner, and regular software updates.