Former Digital River Employee Charged in $45K Cryptojacking Scheme

The post Former Digital River Employee Charged in $45K Cryptojacking Scheme appeared first on Coinpedia Fintech News

An ex-employee of a Minnetonka-based e-commerce and payment processing organization known as Digital River has been charged for engaging in a cryptojacking scheme that was detrimental to the company. 

Assistant United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger spoke on the arrest of 44-year-old Joshua Paul Armbrust of Orr, Minnesota, who is alleged to have used a previous employer’s Amazon Web Services (AWS) for mining cryptocurrencies without consent from December 2020 to May 2021.

Cryptojacking is the unauthorized usage of a computer or other device belonging to another person for cryptocurrency mining; it leads to elevated consumption costs, deterioration of a system’s performance, and increased energy consumption. Armbrust’s use of Digital River’s AWS resources was particularly oriented towards mining Ethereum, which cost more than $45,000 to the firm.

The Scheme: Misusing Former Employer’s Amazon Web Services

Contrary to current practice, Armbrust resigned from Digital River in February 2020 and used the company’s AWS account several times without the right to do so. Papers submitted to the district court show that he employed AWS computing resources to mine Ethereum and then transfer the digital currency to two Coinbase accounts coupled with his name. 

According to the FBI, Armbrust then withdrew more than $ 7k of these funds and transferred the money to his Wells Fargo checking account.

This sophisticated cryptojacking attack which is incorporated with the Digital River Cloud infrastructure has caused a huge financial assault on the organization.

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Legal Matters and Discovery

The indictment has one count of computer fraud against Armbrust, who was produced in court for his first appearance on November 1, 2024, before Magistrate Judge John F. Docherty. The FBI spearheaded the probe as it underlined a new emerging trend of cyber threats targeting organisations and their online assets and property.