Hackers are targeting gamers by distributing crypto-mining malware through torrents of popular games, according to Russian cybersecurity company Kaspersky. The campaign, dubbed "StaryDobry," uses cracked versions of games to deliver the mining payload to users' computers. Kaspersky discovered the infections in January 2025 but found that the campaign began in September the previous year. The malware, called XMRig, only activates on computers with eight or more cores, making gaming rigs with strong hardware a prime target. Most infections occurred in Russia, but cases were also found in Belarus, Kazakhstan, Germany, and Brazil. The identity of the hackers behind the campaign remains unknown.



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