FBI Issues Alert Concerning Malicious State-Sponsored North Korean Hackers Targeting Crypto Firms

On April 18, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a Cybersecurity Advisory (CSA) study concerning malicious North Korean state-sponsored cryptocurrency activity. According to the U.S. government, instrumentality enforcement officials person observed North Korean cyber actors targeting circumstantial blockchain companies successful the industry.

FBI Alleges North Korean Hacking Activity Is connected the Rise, Report Highlights Lazarus Group’s Activities

The FBI, alongside a fig of U.S. agencies, published a CSA report called “North Korean State-Sponsored APT Targets Blockchain Companies.” The study details that the APT (advanced persistent threat) has been state-sponsored and progressive since 2020. The FBI explains that the radical is commonly known arsenic Lazarus Group, and U.S. officials impeach the cyber actors of a fig of malicious hack attempts.

North Korean cyber actors people a assortment of organizations specified arsenic “organizations successful the blockchain exertion and cryptocurrency industry, including cryptocurrency exchanges, decentralized concern (defi) protocols, play-to-earn cryptocurrency video games, cryptocurrency trading companies, task superior funds investing successful cryptocurrency, and idiosyncratic holders of ample amounts of cryptocurrency oregon invaluable non-fungible tokens (NFTs).”

The FBI’s CSA study follows the caller Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) update which accuses Lazarus Group and North Korean cyber actors of being progressive successful the Ronin span attack. After the OFAC update was published, the ethereum mixing task Tornado Cash revealed it was leveraging Chainalysis tools, and blocking OFAC-sanctioned ethereum addresses from utilizing the ether mixing protocol.

‘Apple Jesus’ Malware and the ‘TraderTraitor’ Technique

According to the FBI, Lazarus Group leveraged malicious malware called “Apple Jesus,” which trojanizes cryptocurrency companies.

“As of April 2022, North Korea’s Lazarus Group actors person targeted assorted firms, entities, and exchanges successful the blockchain and cryptocurrency manufacture utilizing spearphishing campaigns and malware to bargain cryptocurrency,” the CSA study highlights. “These actors volition apt proceed exploiting vulnerabilities of cryptocurrency exertion firms, gaming companies, and exchanges to make and launder funds to enactment the North Korean regime.”

The FBI says the North Korean hackers utilized monolithic spearphishing campaigns sent to employees moving for crypto firms. Typically the cyber actors would people bundle developers, IT operators, and Devops employees. The maneuver is called “TraderTraitor” and it often mimics “a recruitment effort and connection high-paying jobs to entice the recipients to download malware-laced cryptocurrency applications.” The FBI concludes that organizations should study anomalous enactment and incidents to the CISA 24/7 Operations Center oregon sojourn a section FBI tract office.

What bash you deliberation astir the FBI’s claims astir North Korean state-sponsored cyber attackers? Let america cognize what you deliberation astir the FBI’s latest study successful the comments conception below.

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