US Agencies Warn Of North Korean Hackers In Crypto Sectors

US agencies warn of North Korean hackers in almost all crypto services and advised private companies to do their diligence before hiring freelance workers because the attackers use illicit tactics and stolen identities to hide their nationality so let’s read more today in our latest cryptocurrency news.

The US DOJ, the State, and the Treasury issued warnings against the influx of North Korean workers in freelance tech jobs, especially in the crypto industry. The US agencies warn of North Korean hackers and highlighted the critical red flags and identifiers for private companies to avoid hiring these workers and the agencies warned that the workers pose a range of risks that include theft of intellectual property and data and funds which could be used to bypass sanctions. There was a huge increase in freelance jobs due to the pandemic and crypto was a decentralized sector which means it offers some of the most lucrative jobs in the IT industry but also in the crypto industry.

This was the main reason for concern for the US agencies who are wary of North Korea’s interest in the crypto sector. The advisory noted that the North Korans often use virtual private networks to buy third-country IP addresses and stolen identities to hide their country of origin:

“These workers develop applications and software spanning a range of sectors, including, but not limited to, business, cryptocurrency, health and fitness, social networking, sports, entertainment and lifestyle.”

To identify these workers from the US Based companies, the advisory listed multiple red flags to be wary of including name spelling errors, work location, contact information, educational history, work history, and other details. The request for payments in crypto and the transfer of money to People’s Republic of China-based accounts were major red flags listed in the advisory. North Korea has been popular for stealing money via ransomware attacks and hacks and it is the home of some of the biggest hacking groups out there. The recent Axie Infinity ROnin Bridge hack which resulted in over $600 million of crypto being stolen, was performed by Lazarus, the well-known North Korean hacking group.

According to the reports from Chainalysis, up to $1.75 billion worth of crypto was stolen by the Lazarus Group. The paper informed that the group stole and laundered huge sums of digital currencies since 2018 and the most successful hack was against KuCoin when they netted over $250 million.