{
  "family": "epicscale",
  "sample_count": 2,
  "category": "advanced_threat",
  "description": "Adware:Win32/Epicscale is a Potentially Unwanted Program (PUP) that operates as a covert cryptocurrency miner. While it originally presented itself as a platform that used 'idle processing power' for charitable causes, it is widely classified as adware/riskware due to its deceptive installation practices (often bundled with other software without clear consent) and the severe impact it has on system performance.<br><br><b>Understanding Epicscale (Cryptojacking)</b><br>To an end-user, an Epicscale infection manifests as severe system sluggishness. Fans may run at maximum speed, laptops will overheat, and battery life will plummet, even when the computer is ostensibly idle. For a security administrator, Epicscale is a form of Resource Hijacking (`T1496`). It steals the organization's hardware resources and electricity to mine cryptocurrency (like Bitcoin or Monero) for the software developers.<br><br><b>Execution and Hijacking Mechanics</b><br>Epicscale is typically distributed via software bundles (`T1189`). When a user downloads a free utility (like uTorrent, which notoriously bundled Epicscale in 2015), Epicscale installs silently in the background. It establishes persistence via the Registry Run keys or Scheduled Tasks (`T1547.001`) to ensure it launches automatically. Once running, it utilizes the CPU and sometimes the GPU to perform complex cryptographic hashing, communicating with external mining pools (`T1105`) to submit completed 'shares' and receive new workloads.<br><br><b>Indicators of Compromise & Impact</b><br>The primary impact is severe performance degradation and potential hardware damage due to overheating. Host-based IoCs include prolonged, 100% CPU utilization by unknown or unexpected processes (often disguised with generic names). The presence of the Epicscale application in `C:\\Program Files` or `%AppData%` is a definitive indicator. Network IoCs include constant, low-bandwidth outbound traffic (often TCP over non-standard ports like 3333 or 14444) communicating with known cryptocurrency mining pools (e.g., Stratum protocol).",
  "cta": "Published by the SystemHelpdesk team.",
  "aliases": [],
  "enrichment_level": "expert-seo",
  "faq": [],
  "faq_count": 0,
  "mitre_attack": [
    "T1547.001",
    "T1189",
    "T1496"
  ],
  "cisa_advisory": null,
  "last_updated": "2026-06-09",
  "mitre_attack_detail": [
    {
      "id": "T1496",
      "name": "Resource Hijacking (Cryptocurrency Mining)",
      "tactic": "Impact"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1547.001",
      "name": "Boot or Logon Autostart Execution",
      "tactic": "Persistence"
    },
    {
      "id": "T1189",
      "name": "Drive-by Compromise (Software Bundling)",
      "tactic": "Initial Access"
    }
  ],
  "containment_steps": [
    "Use the Windows Task Manager or EDR tools to identify the process consuming excessive CPU resources and terminate it immediately.",
    "Use the Windows Control Panel to thoroughly uninstall the 'Epicscale' application and the parent program that bundled it.",
    "Run a full scan with a reputable antimalware tool to ensure all associated scheduled tasks and hidden mining components are removed.",
    "Update network firewall rules to block outbound traffic to known cryptocurrency mining pools (Stratum protocol)."
  ],
  "what_to_avoid": [
    "Do not ignore complaints of slow or overheating computers; it is often the first indicator of a cryptojacking infection.",
    "Avoid allowing users to download unverified freeware or torrent clients, as these are the primary distribution vectors for bundled miners."
  ],
  "target_industries": [
    "Global / Opportunistic"
  ],
  "motivation": "Opportunistic",
  "threat_actors": [
    "Unknown / Cybercriminal"
  ],
  "target_geographies": [
    "Global"
  ]
}