Cybersecurity company NortonLifeLock has unveiled Norton Crypto to allow consumers to “safely” mine cryptocurrency via its Norton 360 product.

Chosen 360 users will receive an invitation from Thursday to join the firm’s early adopter program for mining Ether.

There are also plans to enable the service for around 13 million 360 customers over the next few months, reports Cointelegraph.

Speaking to CNN Business, Norton stated is plans to support mining of other “top cryptos that allow our members to get the highest reward for their computing capacity” in the future, adding: “While the company will start slow, with a focus on helping customers safely mine Ethereum, NortonLifeLock is considering adding reputable cryptocurrencies in the future.”

Chief product officer of NortonLifeLock, Vincent Pilette said he is proud his company is the first cybersecurity firm to provide services allowing miners “to safely and easily turn the idle time on their PCs into an opportunity to earn digital currency.”

The company said it offers superior security features to current mining protocols, adding: “For years, many coinminers have had to take risks in their quest for cryptocurrency, disabling their security in order to run coinmining and allowing unvetted code on their machines that could be skimming from their earnings or even planting ransomware.”

To circumvent the possible risks, Norton said miners utilising the product will receive earnings into the firm’s cloud-based wallet, sidestepping risks of the wallet being lost because of a hard drive failure.

Pilette added: “With Norton Crypto, our customers can mine for cryptocurrency with just a few clicks, avoiding many barriers to entry in the cryptocurrency ecosystem.”