IPA IP 2020 Question 60
A question IPA Japan published in 令和2年度 10月 ITパスポート試験 公開問題 問60, translated into English. ITPEC is based on the same exams.
What is the term for performing the work called mining for obtaining crypto assets (virtual currency) by using other people’s computers without being noticed?
Explanation
Cryptojacking — secretly using someone else's computer to mine crypto assets.
Mining is the computation that validates crypto asset transactions and is rewarded with new coins; it uses a lot of processing power and electricity. In cryptojacking, an attacker plants mining code on other people's computers, through malware or a script on a website, so their CPUs mine for the attacker without their knowledge. The victims notice only a slow computer, heat and a larger power bill.
Answer (a)
Why not others:
- •(b) Social engineering — obtaining passwords and other information by deceiving people, not by technical means
- •(c) Buffer overflow — sending data longer than a program's buffer to overwrite memory and run attack code
- •(d) Phishing — leading people with fake e-mail to a fake website to steal personal information
Key rule: Crypto + hijacking: cryptojacking steals computing power to mine crypto assets, not the victim's data.
Security · AI-written, may contain errors
This question comes from the past questions IPA Japan publishes, translated into English by ITPEC Practice. ITPEC Practice is an independent study tool and is not affiliated with IPA or ITPEC. See the original paper (PDF) or Report an issue.