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According to reports from Rai News, the Italian authorities have captured an airport staff member who illegally used his workplace’s computer network to mine Ethereum (ETH).
The employee, who worked at the airport in the Italian city of Lamezia Terme, allegedly installed mining malware on the airport’s computer systems. The employee was accused of installing multiple mining rigs on site in two different technical rooms to take advantage of the airport’s IT infrastructure and electricity.
The breach of security occurred at a facility of Sacal Global Solutions, the company in charge of managing the technical framework of the airports in the Italian region of Calabria. The report adds that the 41-year-old airport technician’s actions put the airport’s backend computer systems at risk of a cybersecurity breach.
Other Sacal technicians have discovered and reported the mining malware after being worried about some anomalies. With the collaboration of the airport administrators, local authorities were then able to identify the culprit by shooting security cameras from the rooms.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lamezia Terme coordinated the investigations. They examined the IP addresses associated with the installed machines, identifying the site of the “Ethermine” pool. Criminal investigations continue to find out if accomplices were involved in the crime.
The report does not mention how much the culprit earned from ETH mining nor does it mention how long the business has been up and running. Mining digital currencies requires high energy consumption which drives up bills. Action can be a profitable business if you have the right resources available at the right costs.
The employee’s actions diverted computing power resources away from airport management, which is illegal. The exact charges for this incident have yet to be released.
As for Ethereum, it continues to prove that its only use is to facilitate criminal activities. Even the staunchest supporters of Ethereum are becoming increasingly frustrated with the blockchain’s declining performance and high fees. This case is not the first incident of its kind.
As long as the hobby project continues to struggle with scaling, it will continue to be a magnet for cybercriminals seeking to capitalize on Ethereum’s artificially inflated market value. That ability to scale the blockchain project continues to elude developers as the controversial version of Ethereum 2.0 is pushed further and further back.
Follow CoinGeek’s Crypto Crime Cartel series, which delves into the flow of groups – from BitMEX to Binance, Bitcoin.com, Blockstream and Ethereum – that have co-opted the digital asset revolution and turned the industry into a minefield for the gullible (and even experts) market players.
New to Bitcoin? Check out CoinGeek Bitcoin for beginners section, the ultimate resource guide to learn more about Bitcoin, as originally intended by Satoshi Nakamoto, and blockchain.
