North Korean hackers target several US crypto firms: Report

A North Korean hacking group breached a US-based American IT management company and then used it to target an unidentified number of cryptocurrency companies, according to a report. The group, which is claimed to have government backing, has been named Labyrinth Chollima.

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, news agency Reuters reported that the hackers broke into enterprise software company JumpCloud in late June. The report also said that the hackers used this access to target its cryptocurrency company clients in an effort to steal digital cash.
JumpCloud acknowledged the hack in a blog post last week and blamed it on a “sophisticated nation-state sponsored threat actor.” The company hasn’t revealed which of its clients have been affected.

Breach investigation on
Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike Holdings is working with JumpCloud to investigate the breach. It confirmed that North Korean hackers were behind the breach. Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike senior vice president for intelligence, said that the hackers have a history of targeting cryptocurrency companies.
“One of their primary objectives has been generating revenue for the regime,” he was quoted as saying.
The Reuters report also claimed that cybersecurity researcher Tom Hegel said that the JumpCloud intrusion shows how the North Koreans have become adept at hacking of software or service providers in order to steal data — or money — from users.
“North Korea in my opinion is really stepping up their game,” said Hegel, who works for US firm SentinelOne. He said that digital indicators published by JumpCloud associated the hackers with activity previously attributed to North Korea.
Labyrinth Chollima is said to be one of North Korea’s most prolific hacking groups and are purportedly responsible for some of the most daring and disruptive cyber intrusions.
According to Blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis, the North Korea-linked hacking groups have committed theft of cryptocurrency estimated to be $1.7 billion across multiple hacks.