Image: Dr. Wenwen Wang won the 2021 M. G. Michael Award for Sciences from the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences for innovative research! Title: Effective and Adaptable Detection of In-Browser Cryptojacking Attacks The huge profits of decentralized cryptocurrencies, e.g., Bitcoin, as well as the possibility of performing transactions anonymously, have attracted the attention of cybercriminals on mining cryptocurrencies by illegitimate and unauthorized means. As web-based cryptocurrency mining becomes profitable, in-browser cryptojacking attacks are gaining popularity. A recent report shows that browser-based cryptojacking attacks were increased by 163% in the second quarter of 2020 compared to the previous quarter. This project investigates the essential components and necessary steps of in-browser cryptojacking attacks with the goal of inventing novel techniques to effectively and adaptively detect them. The success of this project will substantially push forward our understanding of the emerging cryptojacking attacks and significantly advance the research in related areas.
