Risks of Cryptocurrency Mining and University Restrictions

 

Using U-M resources to mine cryptocurrency is against university policy. This includes the usage of U-M or personally owned systems, as well as the use of U-M computer equipment and university electrical or networking resources. This prohibition does not apply to faculty-approved research or coursework.

 

Mining cryptocurrency may potentially put you, your personal gadgets, and your accounts at risk.

 

What Exactly Is Cryptocurrency Mining?

 

In the pursuit of transaction fees and additional digital money, cryptocurrency mining is the distributed process of authenticating digital currency transactions and adding them to a public ledger/record for the currency (the blockchain).

Mining is a computationally complex operation that can consume substantial amounts of computing time and electricity.

 

Using University of Michigan Resources for Cryptocurrency

 

Mining is a violation of university policy.

 

Cryptocurrency mining is prohibited per university policy:

 

According to SPG 601.07, U-M resources may not be utilized “for personal commercial purposes or for personal financial or other gain.”

According to the Statement of Student Rights and Responsibilities, students must follow university computer policy.

Outside of faculty-approved research and courses, members of the University of Michigan community are barred from using university resources (including computing equipment, network services, and electricity) for cryptocurrency mining

 

 

Dangers of Cryptocurrency Mining and Malware

 

Attackers may employ phishing techniques to fool victims into clicking links that install bitcoin mining software on their PCs. They may also use malicious code to infect websites. Furthermore, some websites include code that runs on visitors’ computers and mines cryptocurrency for the website owner. The only symptom victims may detect is a decrease in computer performance.

 

Be wary of Phishing and Suspicious Email threats, and keep an eye out for websites that consume unusually high amounts of resources.