Russian authorities have uncovered a mobile cryptocurrency mining operation hidden inside a KamAZ truck, illegally tapping into power lines that supply a nearby village in the Republic of Buryatia. The discovery was made during a routine inspection in the Pribaikalsky District, where the truck was found connected to a 10-kilovolt power line—enough to supply an entire rural community.

Inside the truck, officials found 95 mining rigs and a mobile transformer. Two suspects reportedly fled the scene in an SUV before police could intervene. This is already the sixth illegal crypto mining incident reported in Buryatia since the beginning of the year. According to the regional energy company Buryatenergo, unauthorized crypto mining setups have caused frequent voltage drops, equipment overloads, and even local blackouts.

To prevent such disruptions, Russia has implemented strict mining bans in certain regions. In Buryatia, mining is prohibited from November 15 to March 15 unless operated by licensed companies in specific districts. A full mining ban has also been enforced in the Irkutsk region since April 2025—despite being home to BitRiver’s massive data center in Bratsk, one of Russia’s largest legal mining facilities.

Adding to the chaos, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has reported that a hacker group dubbed “Librarian Ghouls” or “Rare Werewolf” has launched a cryptojacking campaign targeting Russian users. The hackers distribute malware through phishing emails, disabling Windows Defender and secretly mining cryptocurrency between 1:00 am and 5:00 am to avoid detection. The malware also harvests login data and system information to optimize its mining activity.

These developments reflect rising tensions in Russia’s crypto sector, where authorities are now battling both rogue miners on the ground and cybercriminals in the digital realm.