Detections of crypto-mining malware surged by 53% quarter-on-quarter in the final three months of 2020 as the value of Bitcoin soared, according to Avira. The price of one Bitcoin now stands at over $35,500, close to an all-time-high it hit earlier this month, according to the security vendor’s Avira Protection Labs. "The rapid increase in coin-miner malware suggests that malware authors are taking advantage of the price trend in recent months and increasingly spreading malware that aims to exploit other people’s computer resources for illegal mining activities,” argued Alexander Vukcevic, director of Avira Protection Labs. “This correlation is not surprising but is nevertheless worrying for legitimate miners and investors.”