30s Summary

Hackers, believed to be linked to the North Korean government, are trying to steal cryptocurrencies by impersonating employees of top international tech companies. These hackers have established two groups, “Sapphire Sleet” and “Ruby Sleet”. The former scams people by pretending to be job recruiters and infecting their computers with malware during faux interviews, while the latter steals military secrets from American, British, and South Korean defence contractors. The hackers manipulate their digital identities using AI, social media, and voice-altering technology. They have previously targeted crypto companies with similar tactics, warranting warnings from both cybersecurity experts and the FBI.

Full Article

Did you hear about this wild, wild thing? Some sneaky hackers who are believed to be enmeshed with the North Korean government have amped up their game. They’re focusing on swindling cryptocurrencies (runaway web money, remember?) by pretending to be actual employees of huge, international tech companies.

Techcrunch recently spilled the beans on this. They’re citing a few experts who were a part of the Cyberwarcon cybersecurity conference. Here’s the highlight: these tricksters have formed two distinct hacker squads – “Sapphire Sleet” and “Ruby Sleet.”

Sapphire Sleet has fancied a pretty elaborate scam where they pose as genuine job recruiters. They pull innocent people into interviews or job proposals, only to infect their computers with harmful malware that’s disguised as normal files or sneaky web links during the interview.

On the other hand, Ruby Sleet has successfully sneaked into American, British, and South Korean aerospace and defense contractors and have been swiping military secrets.

There’s a special twist in this story – the hackers from North Korea have doctored their reels with the help of AI, social media, and voice-altering tech. This way, they’ve managed to get their claws into these huge companies and execute their deceptive schemes.

But hold on! This isn’t the first time the North Koreans have had their eyes on the crypto industry. Much before the experts at Cyberwarcon waved the red flag, hackers tied to North Korea had already set their crosshairs on crypto companies with the same tactics.

Just in September, the FBI cautioned about these hackers eyeing crypto firms and certain finance projects with harmful malware pretending to be job offers. The second someone got that malware or clicked the treacherous link, their private keys (like their secure passcodes) would be swiped clean off.

It doesn’t stop there! In October, the Cosmos ecosystem was worried about its Liquid Staking Module, as it was supposedly set up by North Korean developers. Jacob Gadikian, a Cosmos ecosystem developer, warned, “The guys who made the LSM are the best and most productive crypto thieves in the world.” This triggered a bunch of security checks on the Cosmos Liquid Staking Module. Whoa, what a ride, right?