Russian cybersecurity firm Kaspersky Lab reported today that a vulnerability in Telegram's messaging application had been exploited to turn desktop computers into unwitting crypto miners, a claim that the company's founder is rejecting.

The cyber attacks were discovered by Kaspersky Lab, a global provider of cybersecurity software, which reports that covert mining operations have been underway since March 2017. Kaspersky said the attacks were possible due to a zero-day vulnerability.

"We have found several scenarios of this zero-day operation that, in addition to malware and spyware in general, was used to deliver mining software. These infections have become a global trend that we have seen over the past year, "said Alexey Firsh, analyst at Kaspersky Lab in a statement today.

However, Pavel Durov, who founded the popular messaging application, brought his own Telegram channel to minimize the report.

"As always, the reports of antivirus companies should be taken with a grain of salt, since they tend to exaggerate the seriousness of their findings to obtain publicity in the media," he said.

He went on to claim that what Kaspersky had discovered was not a "real vulnerability in Telegram Desktop" and that cybercriminals could not access users' computers without first opening a malicious file.

"So do not worry," he told the channel, "unless you have opened a malicious file (sic), you have always been safe."

According to reports, cyber criminals used the malware to obtain Monero, Zcash, among other cryptocurrencies, according to the Kaspersky report. The firm says that the evidence indicates that the malware has Russian origins, and points out that, in some cases, it is used as a backdoor through which hackers can silently control a computer.

In the course of analyzing malicious servers, Kaspersky also said it found "files that contained a local Telegram cache that had been stolen from the victims."

As the profits associated with mining have increased, mining malware has become more common.

Similarly, in another significant event last month, it was discovered that Google's DoubleClick ad services were hijacked to distribute mining malware on important sites such as YouTube. This has put additional pressure on developers to ensure user safety.