The figure represents the number of computers, running Kaspersky software, that were protected from the malicious software, which can turn a machine into a remotely-controlled mining device without the owner actually knowing. Partially underpinning the incidents, the company said, are several large-scale botnets dedicated to malicious mining activities.
Though miners traditionally infected Windows computers, they can also affect Linux machines. Some botnets infect machines that do not possess sufficient processing power to effectively mine for anything as well.
In 2017, Kaspersky detected 1.8 million attacks, while in 2014 Kaspersky detected just over 700,000 mining malware attacks.
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