Japanese authorities warn of North Korean hackers as Lazarus attacks the country's crypto assets.
The National Police Agency reported that Lazarus has conducted cyber attacks targeting the Japanese crypto economy through phishing, according to The Japan News.
Cryptocurrency Businesses In Japan Are In Danger
The Cybercrime Unit of the Japanese National Police Agency identified that Lazarus group was behind numerous hacking incidents in the country, as per U Today.
In a public advisory with the Financial Services Agency, they have sent a warning to crypto asset businesses, asking for vigilance amidst the attacks.
According to Coin Telegraph, the agencies warn that Lazarus uses social engineering methods to execute these hackings, impersonating executives of companies to exploit employees.
The statement says that the cyberattack group resorts to spreading malicious links or attachments with malwares to gain access to networks, Nippon News reports.
The Japan News reports that internal systems of companies have been hacked, and cryptocurrency were stolen according to reports and investigation established in April this year.
According to Nippon News, they believe that the group commonly uses phishing strategies to acquire crypto funds because they are managed more loosely by companies.
The National Police Agency confirms that there have already been several attacks carried out against Japanese digital asset firms, which can allegedly be attributed to the same hackers.
In the public attribution, the Japanese government has named the main attacker and revealed information to the public as a tool to deter the attacks.
The statement adds that individuals and businesses should not download files from sources other than those who have been verified authentically, especially for crypto assets applications.
Lazarus Is Notorious For Cyberhacking
U Today reports that North Korean hackers have been attacking Japanese businesses for several years now, and is allegedly used by the government to steal crypto to fund its weapons.
Coin Telegraph writes that the Lazarus group is affiliated with the North Korea Reconnaissance General Bureau, a government-run intelligence group that has been targeting Southeast Asia.
Lazarus has been accused of being behind the $650 million Ronin Bridge exploit in March, and was proved to be the culprit in the $100 million layer-1 blockchain Harmony attack.
This North Korean group is also believed to be involved in the 2017 WannaCry ransomware, and is involved in a ¥78 billion crypto assets case in the US this year, Japan Times writes.
Furthermore, sources have found that Lazarus is also responsible for the theft of ¥6.7 billion in Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency from the Zaif crypto exchange in 2018.
Additionally, the National Police Agency also suspects that the disappearance of ¥3.5 billion worth of cryptocurrency from Bitpoint Japan in 2019 can be attributed to Lazarus, Japan Times says.
With this information, the police advise digital assets to install security software and implement multi-factor authentication to strengthen their safety mechanisms.
