Study found North Korea posing as IT workers to steal billion dollars

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As a seasoned cybersecurity analyst with over two decades of experience under my belt, I can confidently say that the crypto industry is facing an unprecedented level of threats, particularly from North Korean hacker groups. Their innovative tactics, such as posing as IT workers and recruiters, have allowed them to infiltrate multinational companies, stealing millions in cryptocurrency and sensitive company secrets.

In recent years, North Korea, infamous for cybercrimes involving the theft of billions in cryptocurrency, has broadened its skills by disguising themselves as job recruiters and IT professionals.

International corporations are now finding North Korean hackers to be attractive job applicants, as they seek to gain financial benefits and obtain confidential business information.

At a recent cybersecurity gathering known as Cyberwarcon, researchers discovered evidence of North Korean cyberworkers being hired by large corporations in roles such as IT specialists and recruiters, working from afar.

The research additionally revealed that two hacking collectives known as Sapphire Frost and Ruby Frost were conducting operations on behalf of the North Korean government, employing similar tactics and presenting themselves as possible employees in the process.

Sapphire Sleet is tricking people and businesses into giving them cryptocurrency by pretending to be recruiters or venture capitalists. In reality, these fake meetings are actually set up to make victims download a tool that supposedly fixes an issue, but it’s actually malware. As a result of this scheme, North Korea has managed to amass $10 million over the past six months.

As a researcher, I find myself studying the activities of Ruby Sleet, a company within the aerospace sector. Their operations appear to focus on acquiring and exploiting confidential industry knowledge. This clandestine activity is utilized for two primary purposes: the development of advanced weaponry and sophisticated navigation systems.

The crypto industry lost $1.5 billion due to hacker

2024 saw significant cyberattacks in the cryptocurrency sector, resulting in a total loss of approximately $1.48 billion, according to Immunefi – a top-tier bug bounty platform. In November alone, around $71 million was stolen, with Thala and Dexx being the primary targets of these attacks.

The financial company Thala announced a loss of about $26 million due to a vulnerability in their system that was exploited. As a precautionary measure, they have frozen assets worth around $11.5 million, which include Thala’s own token (THL) and the Move Dollar (MOD).

Additionally, both Dexx and Polter Finance have suffered hacking incidents that cost them approximately $21 million and $12 million respectively. Moreover, the significant losses incurred by DeltaPrime on November 11, totaling $5 million, are also part of this month’s setbacks.

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2024-11-29 04:02