North Korean hackers have stolen a large amount of cryptocurrency in the previous five years, utilizing a variety of clever ways to fool their targets.
In recent years, the dictatorship has acquired a hoard of approximately $3 billion in cryptocurrency. Among its most notable victories was the 2021 Axie Infinity breach, in which North Korean crypto hackers stole $600 million from participants of the platform’s digital pets game.
Axie Infinity parent company Sky Mavis employee was contacted by a hacker posing as a recruiter, according to a report published on Sunday. The hacker sent the prospective employee a document that was laced with malware and gave the hacker access to the candidate’s computer.
The scheme is just one illustration of how North Korea is growing more skilled at identifying and carrying out these hacks, which are assisting it in funding its ballistic missile and nuclear weapons programmes. The Journal claims that 50% of the money for the nation’s missile programme comes from stolen cryptocurrency.
In recent years, hackers have also pretended to be government officials and IT professionals. They have pretended to be Canadian IT professionals and Japanese blockchain developers, representing what the Journal refers to as a “shadow workforce” that occasionally pays up to $300,000 per year.
In some instances, the hackers will even attempt to land jobs at the companies they are pursuing, interviewing with Westerners present. Once hired, they will make minor adjustments to products that make them susceptible to hacking.
A source told the Journal that businesses are engaged in a “arms race” with the crooks as North Korea’s cyberattacks have become more advanced and their scams more challenging to spot.
