Skype Malware that turns computers into Bitcoin miners.

Increasingly  desperate  to  cash  in  on  the  sky-rocketing  price  of  Bitcoin  these days,  gangs  of  cybercriminals  have  designed  a  new  malware  that’s  infecting computers  via  Skype in an attempt to build a botnet massive enough to start mining the virtual currency.

Researchers from Kaspersky Lab have discovered a new spam message campaign being transmitted via Skype contains malware capable of using an infected computer to mine for Bitcoins. The malware, identified as Trojan.Win32.Jorik.IRCbot.xkt.
According to Kaspersky Lab,  the average click rate for the rogue URL is high, at over 2,000 clicks per hour, and the creators of this malware had used it to seize control of hundreds of computers in Russia, Germany, Ukraine, Poland, Spain and other countries.

The malware spreads itself by infecting the Skype VoIP program, using the age old
trick of sending messages to an infected user’s contacts, such as “Hey, this is my favorite picture of you”, alongside a link to a malicious download. If the unwitting victim click on that link, the malware downloads itself onto their PC, turning the machine into a Bitcoin mining slave alongside the rest of its botnet.
Bitcoin mining malware is just the latest tactic we have seen from cyber criminals.Previous tactics have included malware designed to target people’s Bitcoin wallets,