Cybersecurity agency issues warning over North Korean hackers 1

TL; DR Breakdown

• Cybersecurity firm warns crypto market about hackers
• The outfit wants a conscious approach to security
• Hackers stole $400 million in 2021

Cybersecurity outfit CSIA, in conjunction with the United States FBI, has issued a joint warning over the activities of North Korean hackers in the crypto market. This statement is coming after the suspected sponsored hack attacks targeting several areas of the crypto market. The recent one was the Ronin hack which saw traders lose heavy funds to the versatile hackers. The agency rolled out the update yesterday in a joint statement with the cybersecurity firm and the treasury department.

Cybersecurity agency preaches consciousness of security

According to the joint statement from the agency and the cybersecurity outfit, companies and exchanges in the crypto sector must ensure they are security conscious. This is to curtail and mitigate the act of hackers in the market. In the statement on Twitter, the firm noted that these hackers are ideally targeting blockchains and other websites across the sector.

Although Lazarus is the widely acclaimed criminal group to come from the country, others, including BlueNoroff, have been put on a red list. Others are Stardust Chollima and ATP3. According to the statement, the cybersecurity outfit noted that the hackers had targeted several companies and users spread across the DeFi sector, and others play to earn games. It also mentioned that centralized crypto exchanges have also bore the brunt of hacker’s activities in recent times.

The hackers stole $400 million last year

In a Chainalysis report at the end of last year, the various hackers were able to gather about $400 million into their confines. However, this year is looking exceedingly better than the last with the Ronin hack which saw more than $600 million wiped by the criminals. The cybersecurity outfit has conceded that things might take a turn for the worse going into the year due to the so many sophisticated techniques deployed by the malicious actors.

The statement mentioned that the hackers will not desist from their evil ways due to the backing that they have enjoyed from the North Korean government. While sanctions have been on the country due to their refusal to shut down their nuclear weapon testing, they have found succor in digital assets. The document talks about how the group uses various software to target individuals and businesses; there are also ways to combat and eliminate the threats. However, most of these include maximum security through 2FA and other means.