Kim Jong Un-Backed Hackers Behind Years Of Crypto Exploits In Japan, Police Warns Public – Bitcoin (BTC/USD), Ethereum (ETH/USD)

Kim Jong Un has allegedly resorted to a series of subversive measures aimed at weakening his enemies. 

The North Korean dictator has unleashed an unprecedented wave of cyberattacks against businesses, services and websites linked to cryptocurrency, as per Japan’s national police, Cointelegraph reported.

What Happened: North Korean hacking group, Lazarus, is the organization behind several years of cryptocurrency-related cyber attacks in Japan, according to a public advisory statement published by the Japanese government on Oct. 14.

Japan’s National Police Agency and Financial Services Agency have issued these warnings to the country’s crypto-asset businesses, asking them to remain vigilant of “phishing” attacks by a hacking group attempting to steal crypto assets.

According to the report, the warning is part of a “public attribution” for the fifth time in history. This comes as popular cryptocurrencies Bitcoin BTC/USD and Ethereum ETH/USD were in the green Sunday evening as the global cryptocurrency market cap rose 0.5% to $921 billion at 9:25 p.m. EDT.

See More: TOP 5 BITCOIN AND CRYPTO SCAMS

How It Works: Phishing has been a common method of attack used by North Korean hackers, according to the NPA and FSA. These attacks are orchestrated by impersonating company executives in order to entice employees to click malicious links or attachments. 

The police have asked companies to keep their “private keys in an offline environment” and to “not open email attachments or hyperlinks carelessly.” 

“This cyber attack group sends phishing emails to employees impersonating executives of the target company […] through social networking sites with false accounts, pretending to conduct business transactions […] The cyber-attack group [then] uses the malware as a foothold to gain access to the victim’s network,” the advisory read.

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