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from the would-you-like-javascript-with-your-coffee dept.
We've discussed the potential for stealing CPU cycles from javascript-enabled browsers many a time. It seems one coffee shop in Buenos Aires has put it into practice:
A customer of Starbucks Buenos Aires accused the popular café company of illegally mining Bitcoin using his personal laptop. Noah Dinkin, the man who discovered that his laptop was being used to mine cryptocurrency via Starbucks' free WiFi, tweeted a screenshot to prove it. [It] shows that the WiFi provider in Starbucks Buenos Aires forces a 10 second delay when you first connect to the WiFi so it can mine crypto using the customer's laptop.
Starbucks responded to Dinkin on Twitter to clear up the accusation 10 days later.
Other twitterers pointed out that the crypto-currency in question was in fact Monero, not Bitcoin.
Also covered by The Register and the BBC among others.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 15 2017, @10:06AM
Not really. Increased CPU and/or GPU load from mining means increased electricity usage. "Charging only" is the baseline, sure, but mining will still increase it. Not to mention, increased battery drain could even make more people charge. If the coins mined are worth less then the increased electricity bill due to mining, and they're the ones paying for the electricity...