New East Security Report: UpBit Users Are Being Targeted By A North Korean Hacking Team

Report: UpBit Users Are Being Targeted By A North Korean Hacking Team

According a number of trustworthy reports circulating over the internet recently, a North Korean hacking group is currently using a phishing ploy to attack individuals making use of popular crypto trading platform UpBit. In regards to the matter, the hackers were sending out cleverly disguised emails which were being used to procure sensitive customer data in a highly camouflaged manner.

A Closer Look At The Matter

As per recently released research data by East Security — a well known crypto privacy firm — the email in question was embedded with certain files that promised to allow UpBit users to obtain certain monetary benefits if availed of.

However, once downloaded, the infected files run a series of malicious codes and send out information regarding the host’s machine (including private keys and login details) back to the hackers.

In a recent interview with East Security’s core dev team, a representative for the firm stated that the attack was carried out by a North Korean hacking group — ‘Kim Soo-ki’.

Additionally, in regards to the matter, Mun Jong-hyun, head of the ESRC Center at East Security, was recently quoted as saying:

“In analyzing attack tools and malicious codes used by hacker groups, there are unique characteristics we saw. As bitcoin prices rise, more and more customers are using exchanges. This means that the number of victims has increased, which means that the possibility of stealing passwords stored in the exchange has increased.”

Final Take

While the extent of the damage caused due to the above mentioned hacking scandal is still not clear, it is quite evident that UpBit needs to step up its security/privacy game so as to avoid such embarrassing episodes again in the near future.