North Korea attempted to hack Israeli crypto firm, siphon off funds
Hackers from North Korea earlier this week tried to hack into the systems of an Israeli company that deals in the field of cryptocurrency, according to reports in Israel.
The attack using "unfamiliar tools" was aimed to siphon off money that was presumably to fund Pyongyang's secretive nuclear program, N12 reported on Monday (7 November).
The attack was carried out by North Koreans posing as the company's Japanese supplier. Konfidas, the cyber-security company of the firm, was quick to detect the threat and managed to stop the hack.
Authorities said that the attempt was professional and sophisticated and that unfamiliar cyber tools were used - something that caught the attention of relevant authorities in Israel.
"These attacks don't happen overnight. The pattern of operation of most attacks is that in the first step, you have a conversation with a person on the other side, who gains your trust, then they send a malicious file that contains the virus that is destined to reach the computer, and from the moment it reaches the computer, they start spreading on the network to reach financial assets or information they need and then do what they want," Konfidas CEO Ram Levy told 103FM on Tuesday (8 November).
