QNAP Warns of New Crypto-Mining Malware Targeting NAS Devices

Network-attached storage (NAS) appliance manufacturer QNAP Systems has sounded the alarm on a new wave of attacks targeting NAS devices with a cryptocurrency miner.

The Taiwan-based company, which is well known for its NAS and professional network video recorder (NVR) solutions, on Tuesday urged users to take immediate action to keep their devices protected against the new threat.

QNAP says it is currently investigating reports where attackers infect NAS appliances with a Bitcoin miner that can be identified by the presence of the [oom_reaper] process on a compromised device.

“Once a NAS is infected, CPU usage becomes unusually high where a process named ‘[oom_reaper]’ could occupy around 50% of the total CPU usage. This process mimics a kernel process but its PID is usually greater than 1000,” QNAP explains.

The company advises users to restart the NAS, which may remove the malicious Bitcoin miner, but also encourages them to take steps to ensure their devices are protected from the threat.

For that, users should make sure QTS or QuTS hero are updated to the latest version, and should also install QNAP’s Malware Remover, which is recommended to be updated to the latest version.

Additionally, users are advised to employ strong passwords for both administrator and other accounts, and to make sure that all applications are updated to the latest version, and that the NAS is not exposed to the Internet. They should also “avoid using default system port numbers 443 and 8080,” QNAP says.

Users are advised to apply the necessary mitigations as soon as possible, as QNAP NAS devices have long been in the crosshairs of malicious threat actors, including ransomware operators.

Related: QNAP Patches Critical Vulnerabilities in QVR Software

Related: QNAP Urges Users to Secure Devices Against Brute-Force Attacks

Related: QNAP Investigating New Attacks Targeting NAS Devices