Cryptocurrency monero is being mined in a groundbreaking way – through ads, according to Spotad, an Israel-based advertising network. Spotad reports that it recently discovered irregularities in its advertisements, resulting from the insertion of monero mining code into standard javascript ads.

Increasing cryptocurrency values are sparking an increased interest in mining, and mining through ad networks has the potential to make it easier for miners to generate cryptocurrency and make money. Spotad reported notable differences in user engagement with the affected advertisements, sparking an investigation into these behavioural anomalies.

It is understood that the lower valued monero, trading around $440, was preferred over higher value options such as bitcoin, trading around $18,000. This could ensure mining was possible over lower end and low-powered devices, while simultaneously minimising the level of attention drawn to the action.

Advertising platforms are now being urged to learn more about cryptocurrency mining. They\'re being advised to undertake necessary training to ensure that systems, particularly AI systems, are able to identify such code irregularities and behavioural irregularities in the future. These actions also place increasing pressure on the fraud detection and security industries to meet new demands that have arisen from the rapid growth of the cryptocurrency sector.