Survey: Most Japanese PC Users in the Dark over Cryptojacking

A survey has found that while some 95% of Japanese PC users say they know about cryptocurrency, more than 40% say they have not heard of cryptojacking – attacks that force browser software to mine cryptocurrencies for other internet users.

Cybersecurity provider Avast Software says it quizzed 600 Japanese PC users in April, and discovered that some 20% of respondents claim to have cryptocurrency holdings.

The survey also found that some 64% or respondents mistakenly believed they were immune to cryptojacking attacks as they did not own crypto holdings or had never mined any cryptocurrency.

Per the survey’s authors, if presented with the option of either hiding ads on a website or “allowing cryptocurrency mining in the background,” 23% of respondents said they would choose the latter.

Cryptojacking has become a major menace in Japan, with many in the country claiming the phenomenon is responsible for bringing the Manga industry to the verge of collapse.

Earlier this year, a security company stated that 135,400 Japanese PCs and laptops had been infected with cryptojacking viruses in the final quarter of 2017.

You can read more about cryptojacking here.