For more than five years, macOS users have been the targets of a sneaky malware operation that used a clever trick to avoid detection and hijacked the hardware resources of infected users to mine cryptocurrency behind their backs.

Named OSAMiner, the malware has been distributed in the wild since at least 2015 disguised in pirated (cracked) games and software such as League of Legends and Microsoft Office for Mac, security firm SentinelOne said in a report published this week.

"OSAMiner has been active for a long time and has evolved in recent months," a SentinelOne spokesperson told ZDNet in an email interview on Monday.

"From what data we have it appears to be mostly targeted at Chineses/Asia-Pacific communities," the spokesperson added.