Hackers from North Korea attack the crypto industry by posing as developers under fake names

According to a new report byBloomberg, North Korean hackers arestealing resumes and user information from LinkedIn and Indeed. The goal is togain an advantage in the cryptocurrency labor market by creating a fake profile.

Security researchers from Mandiant Inc. have found evidence that North Korean IT workers are posing as citizens of other countries to obtain crypto financing to buy weapons. To do this, their first goal is to be employed in cryptocurrency projects

Claiming to live in South Korea, Japan, or the United States, North Korean fraudsters target crypto-freelance contracts in Europe and the United States. The attackers pretend to have extensive experience in developing mobile games, applications, and virtual currency exchanges.

Joe Dobson, chief analyst at Mandiant, notes that the fraudsters' strategy boils down to an «insider threat.»

«It comes down to insider threats. If someone is hired into a crypto project and becomes a core developer, it allows them to influence events, for better or worse.»

Michael Barnhart, another principal analyst at Mandiant, believes that the scam is aimed at financing the totalitarian regime in North Korea: «These are North Koreans trying to get to a place where they can bring money to the regime.»