- AN1489 · Analytic 1489 — Sustained execution of resource-intensive processes (e.g., cryptocurrency miners), often launched via scheduled tasks, WMI, or PowerShell. These processes frequently establish persistent external connections and attempt to evade detection using masqueraded or renamed binaries.
- AN1490 · Analytic 1490 — Unusual long-running processes consuming high CPU cycles (e.g., via 'top' or 'ps') initiated via cron, shell scripts, or Docker. Connections to known mining pools or DNS over HTTPS usage as evasion.
- AN1491 · Analytic 1491 — Persistent or background daemons (e.g., plist or launchd jobs) spawning high-CPU processes like xmrig or cpuminer. Outbound encrypted traffic to IPs/domains commonly used by mining proxies.
- AN1492 · Analytic 1492 — Ephemeral or unauthorized container instantiation using public images (e.g., from DockerHub) that initiate high CPU usage shortly after startup. Often scheduled via Kubernetes or Docker socket abuse.
- AN1493 · Analytic 1493 — Unauthorized instance creation in unmonitored or unused regions. Burst of compute-intensive jobs in spot instances or sudden spike in resource usage in legitimate VMs.
AdversaryGraph public intelligence page
This page is part of Threat Matrix, the public browser workspace for the main AdversaryGraph platform. Use it for ATT&CK pivots, actor and technique context, similarity leads, detection coverage review, and analyst-ready investigation paths.
Validation disclaimer: TTP overlap, actor similarity, generated summaries, and coverage findings are investigation leads, not attribution proof or operational validation without analyst review.
Main AdversaryGraph project Documentation Malware Analysis GitHub
Compute Hijacking
Adversaries may leverage the compute resources of co-opted systems to complete resource-intensive tasks, which may impact system and/or hosted service availability. One common purpose for Compute Hijacking is to validate transactions of cryptocurrency networks and earn virtual currency. Adversaries may consume enough system resources to negatively impact and/or cause affected machines to become unresponsive. Servers and cloud-based systems are common targets because of the high potential for available resources, but user endpoint systems may also be compromised and used for Compute Hijacking and cryptocurrency mining. Containerized environments may also be targeted due to the ease of deployment via exposed APIs and the potential for scaling mining activities by deploying or compromising multiple containers within an environment or cluster. Additionally, some cryptocurrency mining malware identify then kill off processes for competing malware to ensure it’s not competing for resources.
Open detection, hunting, mitigation, and evidence workspace
Detection logic
Use behavior-focused telemetry and validate findings against surrounding activity.
Observed actors
Correlated CTI and IR reports
Cyber Knowledge context
Use these routes to move from the ATT&CK behavior into explanation, implementation, evidence handling, validation, and defensive operations. Relevance is generated from explicit identifiers/names and governed topic mappings; it is not attribution evidence.
Linux and macOS endpoint forensics
Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) · Tactic learning route · 24/100Policy architecture, standards, procedures, and exceptions
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) · Tactic learning route · 24/100Module 6 — Alert triage, investigation, and escalation
Blue Team & Defensive Security · Tactic learning route · 24/100
Digital Forensics & Incident Response (DFIR) · Tactic learning route · 24/100Policy architecture, standards, procedures, and exceptions
Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) · Tactic learning route · 24/100Module 6 — Alert triage, investigation, and escalation
Blue Team & Defensive Security · Tactic learning route · 24/100
MITRE mitigations
No ATT&CK mitigation relationship is published for this technique. Apply risk-based controls and verify scope.