There’s no denying that digital currencies are the way of the future. Their decentralized nature holds a strong allure for individuals who not only want to avoid their country’s strict cash-control policies, but who also want to truly own their wealth. Cryptocurrencies are not liable to anyone, including government and central banks.
The combined market cap for these currencies recently broke through the $600 billion ceiling, with Bitcoin leading the pack by trading at just over $20k on some exchanges. These numbers are a definite attraction, evident by the popularity of the recent futures trading initiatives led by CBOE and CME.
It’s easy to see why many would be eager to get a piece of the crypto pie, even if it means using underhanded means to get it. Russian-based company, Transneft, had first-hand experience of this.
The state-owned transport company revealed on Friday that its computers were used in the unauthorized mining of Monero, an increasingly popular crypto. However, Transneft added that they have put defensive measures in place to prevent this from happening in the future.
Spokesman for the company, Igor Demin, has disclosed that mining software was automatically downloaded onto a Transneft computer and then subsequently deleted.
The company’s Vice President, Vladimir Rushailo, warned that the same fate could await other companies. He also said:
“Incidents, where the company’s hardware was used to manufacture cryptocurrency, have been found. It could have a negative impact on the productivity of our processing capacity.”
Some experts tend to agree with Rushailo with regard to making companies aware of the dangers of crypto mining. Pavel Lutsik, a head of information security projects at Croc IT, said that corporate hardware could be the future medium used to mine digital currencies. Lutsik added:
“More and more people have learned that, in fact, they do not even need to stand up from the sofa to make money, if they are not caught.”
According to Lutsik, Russian law dictates that anyone caught hacking corporate servers could serve up to six years in prison. However, 2018 may see this term extended to 10 years.
Russia’s central bank has previously raised its concern that cryptocurrencies pave thep way for money laundering, and can also be used to finance terrorist attacks. This has resulted in the country repeatedly stating that they would control these decentralized digital currencies.
China has also cracked down on crypto, first banning ICOs and then exchanges. In addition, the EU has announced plans to impose strict regulations with regard to cryptocurrency transactions and purchase.