North Korea Aggressively Targeting Crypto Industry with Well-Disguised Social Engineering Attacks


The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (“DPRK” aka North Korea) is conducting highly tailored, difficult-to-detect social engineering campaigns against employees of decentralized finance (“DeFi”), cryptocurrency, and similar businesses to deploy malware and steal company cryptocurrency.

North Korean social engineering schemes are complex and elaborate, often compromising victims with sophisticated technical acumen. Given the scale and persistence of this malicious activity, even those well versed in cybersecurity practices can be vulnerable to North Korea’s determination to compromise networks connected to cryptocurrency assets. North Korean malicious cyber actors conducted research on a variety of targets connected to cryptocurrency exchange-traded funds (ETFs) over the last several months.

Read more…
Source: U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division


Sign up for our Newsletter


Related:

  • Phishing Eager Travelers

    September 15, 2021

    Threat actors have always been adept at keeping abreast of worldwide trends – ranging from geopolitical to technical – and rapidly exploiting these trends for their benefit. The current pandemic is no exception. Unit 42 has previously reported on how cybercriminals have preyed on consumers during COVID-19 and on the use of COVID-19 themed phishing ...

  • The state of ransomware: national emergencies and million-dollar blackmail

    September 14, 2021

    Banks have been “disproportionately affected” by a surge in ransomware attacks, clocking a 1,318% increase year-on-year in 2021. Ransomware has become one of the most well-known and prevalent threats against the enterprise today. This year alone, we have seen high-profile cases of ransomware infection — including against Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and Ireland’s health service — cause ...

  • Hacker-made Linux Cobalt Strike beacon used in ongoing attacks

    September 14, 2021

    An unofficial Cobalt Strike Beacon Linux version made by unknown threat actors from scratch has been spotted by security researchers while actively used in attacks targeting organizations worldwide. Cobalt Strike is a legitimate penetration testing tool designed as an attack framework for red teams (groups of security professionals who act as attackers on their own org’s ...

  • Pair of Google Chrome Zero-Day Bugs Actively Exploited

    September 14, 2021

    Google has addressed two zero-day security bugs that are being actively exploited in the wild. As part of the internet giant’s latest stable channel release (version 93.0.4577.82 for Windows, Mac and Linux), it fixed 11 total vulnerabilities, all of them rated high-severity. The two zero days are tracked as CVE-2021-30632 and CVE-2021-30633. “Google is aware that exploits ...

  • Apple rushes to block ‘zero-click’ iPhone spyware

    September 14, 2021

    Apple has issued a software patch to block so-called “zero-click” spyware that could infect iPhones and iPads. Independent researchers identified the flaw, which lets hackers access devices through the iMessage service even if users do not click on a link or file. The problem affects all of the technology giant’s operating systems, the researchers said. Read more… Source: BBC ...

  • Cybersecurity: Rising risk for airlines

    September 13, 2021

    After remaking their security procedures following the 9/11 attacks to stop airline hijackings, carriers are now faced with rising threats targeting computers and electronic equipment critical to their operations and safety. Since the tragedy 20 years ago on Saturday, airlines and airports have fortified cockpits, barred sharp objects in carry-on luggage and improved technology to ...