Watch Out, North Korea Wants Your Bitcoin

Bitcoin experts beware. Northward Korean hackers are probably trying to fool you into installing malware. A new phishing email campaign that targets the cryptocurrency manufacture has been linked to a shadowy hacking collecting believed to work for Democratic people's republic of korea.

SecurityWatch The alert comes from security firm Secureworks. The English-written e-mail pretends to offer a job opening for a CFO position at a London-based Bitcoin company. But a Microsoft Word zipper in the electronic mail can secretly install malicious code onto your computer.

In one case opened, the Word doc will prompt the victim to have the "Enable Editing," and "Enable Content" functions in Microsoft Discussion. Doing so activates a software macro that'll install a Remote Access Trojan, which can download additional malware onto your computer.

SecureWorks is blaming the attacks on the Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking squad that may have been backside the 2022 Sony Pictures breach.

SecureWorks North Korea

North Korea has been interested in Bitcoin for quondam. IP addresses from the country have been found conducting research into the cryptocurrency as far back as 2022, according to SecureWorks.

Experts say North Korean hackers are probably afterward Bitcoin to fund the country's government, which is facing heavy economic sanctions from governments beyond the world. So far, hackers from the country have targeted four different virtual currency exchanges in Southward Korea by sending out phishing emails.

With Bitcoin's value reaching $17,000, expect Due north Korea's interest in looting the cryptocurrency to remain high. SecureWorks said this latest phishing electronic mail campaign—sent in late October—is probably ongoing.

SecureWorks is linking the phishing attack to Due north Korea based on findings in the malware and how it triggers. The various components share some of the same coding techniques plant in past Lazarus Grouping attacks, the security business firm said.

SecureWorks is alert cryptocurrency companies to exist aware of threat. Although the companies have go a go-to destination for investors to buy and mine Bitcoin, they're too a major target for hackers.

Earlier this month, a Bitcoin mining site called NiceHash was robbed of over four,700 bitcoins, which is at present valued at $83 million. The hackers somehow gained remote access to a company computer and stole an employee's credentials.

For consumers investing in bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, information technology'southward best to use ii-factor authentication and a strong unique password with whatever virtual exchange currency you use.