Microsoft finds crypto mining malware in late Kobe Bryant's wallpaper

A cryptocurrency mining malware has been found in a wallpaper of late basketball legend Kobe Bryant.

Microsoft’s security intelligence unit tweeted earlier today that cybercriminals are taking advantage of Bryant's tragic death last week. “We found a malicious HTML file posing as a Kobe Bryant wallpaper that contains a coin mining script,” it added.

The script mentions “CoinHive,” an in-browser miner for monero (XMR) cryptocurrency that proved popular with hackers. CoinHive, however, shut down all operations in March 2019.

Source: Microsoft

This is not the first time cybercriminals have used photos of celebrities to hide malicious crypto-mining scrips. Last month, an image of Taylor Swift was used to spread malware. Oscar-nominated actress Scarlett Johansson’s picture was also once used to hide monero mining malware.