2015.06.29 联邦调查局。应用程序秘密劫持手机以挖掘数字货币

shiyi18

POLITICS
Feds: App Secretly Hijacked Phones to Mine Digital Money
The "Prized" app drained batteries and burned through mobile data, according to regulators.

By Brendan Sasso and National Journal
JUNE 29, 2015
SHARE
A smartphone app secretly hijacked its users' devices to mine for digital currencies for its developer, federal and state regulators alleged Monday.

The process drained batteries and used up mobile data, potentially causing users to incur fees by going over their monthly data limits, the Federal Trade Commission and the New Jersey Attorney General's office said.

The "Prized" app, which was available on Google's Play Store and Amazon's App Store, advertised that consumers could earn points playing games that they could then use on rewards, such as clothes or gift cards. The company also promised it was free from any malware or viruses, according to the government's complaint.


But instead, the app took control of the user's computing power to secretly mine for virtual currencies, including DogeCoin, LiteCoin, and QuarkCoin, the regulators said. The government's complaint doesn't mention Bitcoin, the most popular virtual currency. People can "mine" for virtual currencies by solving complex mathematical equations.

By tricking users into downloading the app, the developers were able to enrich themselves by hijacking consumers' devices, the regulators allege.

Ryan Ramminger, the CEO of Equiliv Investments, which created the Prized app, agreed to settle the charges with the FTC and New Jersey attorney general. The firm will be barred from creating any malware in the future and will have to pay $50,000 to the state of New Jersey. Ramminger couldn't be reached for comment.

"Hijacking consumers' mobile devices with malware to mine virtual currency isn't just deplorable; it's also illegal," Jessica Rich, director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, said in a statement. "These scammers are now prohibited from trying such a scheme again."

Brendan Sasso is a technology reporter for National Journal.




政治
联邦调查局。应用程序秘密劫持手机以挖掘数字货币
据监管机构称，"Prized "应用耗尽了电池并消耗了移动数据。

布伦丹-萨索和《国家日报》报道
2015年6月29日

联邦和州监管机构周一称，一款智能手机应用程序秘密劫持了其用户的设备，为其开发商挖掘数字货币。

联邦贸易委员会和新泽西州总检察长办公室表示，这一过程耗尽了电池并耗尽了移动数据，有可能导致用户因超过其每月数据限额而产生费用。

在谷歌的Play Store和亚马逊的App Store上都有 "Prized "应用程序，它宣传说消费者在玩游戏时可以赚取积分，然后可以用来购买奖励，如衣服或礼品卡。根据政府的投诉，该公司还承诺它不含任何恶意软件或病毒。


但监管机构说，相反，该应用程序控制了用户的计算能力，秘密地挖掘虚拟货币，包括DogeCoin、LiteCoin和QuarkCoin。政府的投诉并没有提到比特币，即最流行的虚拟货币。人们可以通过解决复杂的数学方程式来 "挖掘 "虚拟货币。

监管机构称，通过诱使用户下载该应用程序，开发商能够通过劫持消费者的设备来充实自己。

创建Prized应用程序的Equiliv Investments公司的首席执行官Ryan Ramminger同意与联邦贸易委员会和新泽西州总检察长就这些指控达成和解。该公司将被禁止在未来创建任何恶意软件，并将不得不向新泽西州支付50,000美元。无法联系到Ramminger进行评论。

"联邦贸易委员会消费者保护局局长杰西卡-里奇（Jessica Rich）在一份声明中说："用恶意软件劫持消费者的移动设备来挖掘虚拟货币不仅仅是令人遗憾的，它也是非法的。"这些骗子现在被禁止再次尝试这样的计划"。

Brendan Sasso是《国家日报》的技术记者。