North Korean hackers use fake resumes to get hired and steal crypto
Categories: Crypto News US
NorthKorean hackers use fake resumes to get hired and steal crypto
Cybersecurity firm Mandient has claimed that North Koreancitizens are stealing online resumes and pretending to be from other countriesas they attempt to fraudulently obtain remote, freelance jobs at crypto firms.Mandient's warning follows a similar warning issued by the US government in Maythat North Koreans were seeking to infiltrate tech companies for maliciouspurposes.
TargetingFake Employees Helping the System
According to fundraising Mandiant researchers, North Korean citizens areactually copying resumes found on LinkedIn and professional networking websitesclaiming to have relevant skills for working on crypto projects. In one case, asuspected North Korean applicant claimed to have published a whitepaper about theBibox crypto exchange.
In another, the applicant claimedto be a senior software developer at a blockchain consultancy firm.Mandientsaid the North Korean applicants were primarily based in China and Russia, andpresented themselves as South Korean, Japanese and in some cases American.
NorthKorea's Troubled History With Crypto
The North Korean regime has used crypto-based crime as asource of revenue for some time. According to Chainalysis, the regime stolenearly US$400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021 alone – a staggering 2.4percent of the country's total GDP. In April this year, the regime-backedLazarus hacking group was believed to be behind the US$625 million hack of theRonin network.
In a related story, around the same time former Ethereum developer VirgilGriffith was sentenced to 63 months in prison and fined US$100,000 by a USFederal Court judge for illegally traveling to North Korea in 2019 In order toteach citizens how they can use crypto to escape the US.