According to MIT Technology Review, "Mining is the computational process of a complete cryptocurrency network to verify transaction records, which is called the blockchain, and receive digital coins in return."
In other words, "miners" work to solve complex mathematical problems to generate income in the form of digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Monero, and others. This mining process requires serious hardware and significant CPU resources to create cryptocurrency.
Cryptomining is usually spread in one of two ways. The first approach is with malware, which is sent via a malicious email attachment or link. Researchers found that 23% of organizations were built by cryptomining malware, during January 2018.
The second approach is to infect third party content providers that are used by highly regulated websites. For example, an advertising provider who may be targeted for access to thousands of websites reaches millions of people.
This method can provide a more substantial return for the attacker (attacker). When users visit this site, they are unknowingly “donating” their computing to attackers while they are on the page.
