ESET, the cybersecurity company based in Slovakia, has reported that it has been somewhat successful in disrupting a previously unnoticed Monero (XMR) mining botnet. The botnet was apparently active in Latin America with more than 35,000 active computers, of which 90% were located in Peru.

Botnet called VictoryGate

Researchers at ESET gave the discovered botnet the name VictoryGate. They noted that cryptojacking was the most important activity used. When the computer has been infected with the malware the computers will use a tremendous amount of electricity. The CPUs of these infected machines are often used between 90 and 99% for mining of cryptocurrencies without the user’s permission.

Nevertheless, ESET has also been able to bring positive news; the company has been able to disrupt the botnet’s activities with some success. The company did this by disabling its command and control server and setting up a so-called ‘sinkhole’. A sinkhole leads requests to an alternative domain that allows ESET to monitor and manage the infected hosts. This allows them to disrupt the illegal activities.

To further reduce the threat of VictoryGate, the cybersecurity company will collaborate with the non-profit ‘Shadowserver Foundation’.