A new threat might be looming the crypto-sphere. It has been disclosed by Eset, a Slovakian software security firm, that the infamous Stantinko botnet has been using YouTube to distribute a Monero (XMR) crypto mining module.

Eset reported on 26th November, that Stantinko botnet which is backed by Cyber offenders has escalated their hacking attacks from ad injection, click fraud, password theft, and social network scam to using video-sharing giant YouTube to get the crypto-malware installed on targets’ devices.

The Stantinko botnet has been around since 2012. As of yet, they have been targeting users in countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Ukraine. The botnet uses YouTube channels to send the crypto-jacking module to the victims. When interacted with, the module mines Monero (crypto-coin) on the devices. Quite similar to the Microsoft discovered malware Dexphot, Statinko Botnet has plagued more than 500,000 devices till now, as per reports.

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These malicious codes hijack the cryptocurrency by stealing the processing resources. It takes over the authentic system processes with the ultimate aim of running a crypto miner on the victim’s devices.

Eset has already informed YouTube about the botnet. The video-sharing giant has responded by deleting all channels that have traces of the malicious code by Statinko.

Monero, on the other hand, reported that the available software on their official website might have been compromised by the cyber offenders and that it can be used to steal cryptocurrency.