Security News > 2022 > January > Japan's Supreme Court rules cryptojacking scripts are not malware
A man found guilty of using the Coinhive cryptojacking script to mine Monero on users' PCs while they browsed the web has been cleared by Japan's Supreme Court on the grounds that crypto mining software is not malware.
Tokyo High Court ruled against the defendant, 34-year-old Seiya Moroi, on charges of keeping electromagnetic records of an unjust program.
Coinhive has been blocked by malware and antivirus vendors as it slows down other processes, increases utility bills, and creates wear and tear on your device.
In many ways Coinhive's Javascript code acts no differently to advertisements.
His interpretation of the Chapter disputes that he ran Coinhive on other people's equipment "Against the user's intention", because if running JavaScript is an unwelcome intrusion then myriad services such as Google Analytics must also be illegal.
By the way, crypto mining is something The Reg would never do more than once a year.