North Korea Aggressively Targeting Crypto Industry with Well-Disguised Social En

[_act_]

You can read the news from here:
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2024/PSA240903
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fbi-warning-north-korea-scheme-steal-cryptocurrency

It is not different from all other means of malware through phishing attack. The attacker will give the victim an employment offer which is used to get the victim to download malware.

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

[Doan9269]

Only the careless or greedy ones will fall on this kind of tricks to attack them, why should I make a download from unrecognized platform in the name of job offer, North Korea have their platform and when offwrs like this are coming, it will be taken up by many media platforms and gain attention, only those thsg easily get freaked by things like this will rush into them to later discover it wasn't as they ha e expected, there's more to keep on learning abiit security tips in cryptocurrency.
Thanks for the information on this.

[Vitamin King]

Nice to see that Kim Jong Un understands the true value of Crypto and willing to engage national resources to gain more of it. All rogue/pariah state leaders should learn from him.

[acroman08]

this is why cybersecurity awareness is important, there are too many scams going around trying to be as sneaky as possible so knowing how to recognize them is the best way to protect yourself from it.

anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if people fall for it since there are a lot of desperate people looking for jobs.

[avp2306]

You can read the news from here:
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2024/PSA240903
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fbi-warning-north-korea-scheme-steal-cryptocurrency

It is not different from all other means of malware through phishing attack. The attacker will give the victim an employment offer which is used to get the victim to download malware.

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

Crazy they exploit the interest of people to get a job and try to attack them on their weaker side. They can really penetrate people with that case especially if they are really in need a job. But since this article has been release for lots of people know this schemes made by North Korean hackers and people is already aware on this hacking issues.

Looks like they someone want to make their leaders wallet fat again and its better for everyone to be cautious or suspicious regarding on the links sent to them by certain individual so this kind of hacking attempts won't happen to them.

This is another article that tackle this topic https://cybernews.com/security/north-korean-hackers-exploit-chrome-zero-day/

[cryptoaddictchie]

It is not different from all other means of malware through phishing attack. The attacker will give the victim an employment offer which is used to get the victim to download malware.

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

Ive encountered a lot of users who offer part time on Twitter for such projects in crypto but since I am aware of the modus, I refuse at their first message considerably their account used was literally a good twitter profile like verified and tons of followers too.

Maybe this group is part of that modus too since its targeting users for an employment or services task too.

[Darker45]

In this age, any offer has to be taken with a pinch of salt, be it employment offer, investment offer, assistance or support offer, and so on. A simple step of due diligence or security check is strongly a must nowadays especially because scammers have increased their sophistication.
 
Unlike the usual phishing attempts via email or direct message coming out of nowhere bringing an offer along with a link or a form, the latest strategy seems to adopt the slow but sure approach, building trust, confidence, and rapport in the process. Everything seems smooth and natural. Any moment we let our guard down could cost us our life savings.

[Churchillvv]

The fact that one might be fully aware of scams and crypto attacks and tries his or her best to avoid them yet still unfortunately fall victim of it whiling seeking a job is very crazy and insane. North Korean hackers are just early exploiters who knew the ways in which the crypto works hence tries to sneak in malwares to their victims without a sign of wrong motives instead the victim will be very willing to do whatever they request just to get a well paying job.

Another thing that gives me problem is the fact it's a crime being committed mostly in one particular are a of the world, infact making the country seem very terrible after hearing this kind of information and I believe the North Korea government should be aware of this act and take responsibility of his people.

[Woodie]

The fact that their targets are employees from digital firms says everything....hackers know employees are mixing business and pleasure to the point of using company equipment eg using PC to open these phishing emails and the alike and I think it's safe to blame the companies themselves for not blocking unauthorized software on their machines especially that such controls can prevent such an attack.

As of the job/employment offers, this is as good as prize winning scams...if you did not play or apply for any job then you shouldn't be expecting to receive such and shouldn't be bothered to open he email 📨 either!!

Lets be cyber smart 🤓

[FinneysTrueVision]

The article mentions that they are targeting ETFs. As far as I know all of the ETFs are using custodians like Coinbase to store their funds, so they might not have the greatest success if they are trying to social engineer employees of BlackRock and Fidelity. Even if these schemes don’t always work as intended, eventually they will have success like we saw in the WazirX attack where North Korean hackers were able to steal $230 million.

[SamReomo]

Anyone who's jobless might fall for those type of scams and there's chance that people from poor background or middle-class background may fall for such scams way easily then those of rich background.

I believe awareness about such scams is the best way to prevent those scams but even then such scammers will find their ways. It's quite hard to stop those scammers if they're funded by government of a country.

[Oshosondy]

Nice to see that Kim Jong Un understands the true value of Crypto and willing to engage national resources to gain more of it. All rogue/pariah state leaders should learn from him.

If anyone wants to gain more of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies in general, the person should work for it and not steal it from someone else.

The article mentions that they are targeting ETFs. As far as I know all of the ETFs are using custodians like Coinbase to store their funds, so they might not have the greatest success if they are trying to social engineer employees of BlackRock and Fidelity. Even if these schemes don’t always work as intended, eventually they will have success like we saw in the WazirX attack where North Korean hackers were able to steal $230 million.

It did not only mention ETFs but also mentioned DeFi. Also what that should be considered most is malware. Malware can go beyond both.

[Davidvictorson]

Reading this only goes so far to re-emphasize what we already know and have been talking about in crypto community which is, you need to know about cyber security. You cannot be in the community and not know that common and sophisticated ways to to stay safe and protect your Bitcoin. Even without this memo and without North Korea doing whatever they are doing, there a thousand bad guys out there who are employing the same methods. It therefore is not just exclusive to that country. As we can see no one is safe whether your funds are in a centralized exchange(which is not advisable) or in non custodial wallet. Your safety is all up to you and no one else , so full responsibility for it.

[CryptSafe]

I have had series of mails for several employment offer I did not apply for and it kept me wondering if I was dreaming or what and in some cases I receive congratulatory messages for job offer I did not apply for. It sounds funny you know and I am was very sure I did not apply for them. Majority of such mail directs me to forms which I will need to download, fill and upload but out of my curiosity, I would want to see how it goes and upon click download link to see for myself, I get notification of possible malware attack and thanks to the anti malware installed in my system. These guys have stepped up their game now to the point that if one is not careful enough, you get scammed/hacked at any slight mistake you make clicking their bait.

I will agree with some comrades here with respect to having a bit of cyber security knowledge because at this point now, it seems that there are some certain online security tips one would need to know more especially the newbies who have no idea how the system works. Having a basic knowledge of how cyber security works is very important at this point in time looking at the way hackers and scammers are going sophisticated.

As for the mails, if you know you are not expecting any mail from any source and you know you did not apply for any online job opportunity then no need engaging yourself with any of such mail if you receive them because you just might be giving them the privilege to get through your system while accessing their files.

[tech30338]

This has been going on for years, they even use a legit email account which has been compromise and use it as a front, to attract people, when i was in my old company they have received an email asking them to pay for a Sales invoice they almost paid, but they call the company first and realized that they have been compromise, emails also is a source of ransomware where users click the link and infect the whole network.

[lovesmayfamilis]

this is why cybersecurity awareness is important, there are too many scams going around trying to be as sneaky as possible so knowing how to recognize them is the best way to protect yourself from it.

anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if people fall for it since there are a lot of desperate people looking for jobs.

I agree. But whoever is interested in the job should also have good skills in crypto, and also understand that if there is an offer for a test, it requires knowledge. If there is some experience in crypto, then the person should immediately worry, since we all understand how dangerous any links can be. In addition, whoever wants to fall into a trap will definitely fall into it. Providing your data on the Internet should be very careful, and then you need to know where a person could find out something about you, and stop in case of any doubt.

[TravelMug]

You can read the news from here:
https://www.ic3.gov/Media/Y2024/PSA240903
https://cointelegraph.com/news/fbi-warning-north-korea-scheme-steal-cryptocurrency

It is not different from all other means of malware through phishing attack. The attacker will give the victim an employment offer which is used to get the victim to download malware.

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

Yeah, see this warnings a couple of days ago, and again, we have seen North Korea lifeline is hanging on it's crypto attacks for many years now and it's their honey pot and they don't run out of any idea on how to target anyone here, individuals or big companies get to steal.

So this is a warning to everyone specially those who works on crypto or works related to it because you will be a target.

Do not trust anyone, emails is one of their attack vector so do not click any suspicious links.

[SmartGold01]

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

Any person who intend to scam people would never made themselves open for people to know their intention towards what they are about to do, untill the victims are being followed up to an extent where they seems that they can't back off on that process then scammed will definitely strike their intentions by then they wouldn't know they have been scammed.

[tabas]

I'll quote some parts of the article;

The scammers may then provide a link to a “pre-employment test” or another download to install malware.

So, it's a fake employment scheme in which they'll ask the potential employees to take a test and then will be required to download a link for their software that contains the virus/malware. I think that these scammers are also connected or part of the Lazarus group that has hacked Sky Mavis' Ronin network by $600M: US officials link North Korean Lazarus hackers to $625M Axie Infinity crypto theft

[Zlantann]

The victim may not first be given the malware link but be given pre-employment test but which is a lie.

North Korea is suffering from severe economic problems due to sanctions and isolation. The country is seeking illegal means to get foreign exchange and cryptocurrencies are one of the easiest means to invade sanctions. The popular hacking organization the Lazarus Group is a well-known North Korean hackers known for high profile hacks that have cost many firms so much money. Maybe the big firms there were victims have been able to protect their organization from such attacks, so these hackers are now targeting small crypto hodlers.

We should always get information from verified websites of companies and never click on unverified links. Don't also be deceived by high remuneration because they might be traps.