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Ethereum farm compromises airport security

TL;DR

  • Illegal Ethereum farm caused airport disruption
  • one person arrested, more suspected

Airports, airlines, and their staff have been hit incredibly hard by the COVID-19 pandemic. The outbreak has seen passenger traffic drop by 80%+ and cost airports millions of dollars in lost revenue. Under those conditions, it’s not surprising that at least one airport employee has turned to cryptocurrency mining to bolster their flagging income. However, an illegal Ethereum mine operated in secrecy at his workplace was undoubtedly not the way to start that business venture.

Today, the would-be miner has been arrested by Italian Authorities after they discovered his Ethereum farm hidden within the depths of the airport. An investigation was launched after Airport staff reported an unusual number of anomalies sweeping through the airport’s computer systems, indicating a potential security breach. Ethereum is currently the second-largest cryptocurrency on the market

The miner – who has yet to be named – was employed by the airport management company Sacal SpA,  at Lamezia Terme International Airport. He allegedly infected the Airport’s computer mainframe with cryptocurrency mining malware, causing havoc across the airport and compromising its security. It is currently unknown whether he acted alone or with accomplices. After being caught red-handed on CCTV tending to a stealth-farm comprised of five powerful mining rigs, Italian Border police and airport security made a swift arrest and are now working to find whether this was an isolated incident. Airport officials are hoping for the latter outcome. They claim that the mining operation has cost them “Thousands of Euros” already.

Ethereum mine proves costly

It is currently unknown how long the stealth-farm was running for or how much Ethereum was earned from the scheme, but the disruption it caused for a business already struggling to tread water in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic has proven costly.  Lamezia Terme International Airport management will now have to upgrade the security systems to ensure this never happens again  – costing them valuable time and money. 

This story comes just hours after police arrested a Hungarian politician for siphoning office power to fuel a Bitcoin farm situated at his home. 

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Dylan Jones

I'm a Computer Science student from South Wales. A programmer by day, and writer by night, I'm taking my first exciting steps into the world of journalism.

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