Japan’s National Police Agency uses "public attribution" method to warn crypto companies about possible phishing attacks.
Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) and Financial Services Agency (FSA) claim that the North Korean hacker group Lazarus is responsible for multiple cyber attacks on Japanese crypto companies.
According to the public advisory statement shared on October 14th, NPA and FSA are asking Japanese crypto businesses to stay alert for possible “phishing” attacks initiated by the Lazarus group.
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Phishing attacks are a form of hack when a malicious actor sends a malware-infected link to a victim. After a person clicks on the received link, the virus is installed in the targeted computer. In most cases, after being installed, the virus sends sensitive information from the computer to hackers.
Based on the news report shared by the local news portal The Japan News, it is the fifth time in Japan’s history that local authorities use the “public attribution” method to disclose information about attackers.
Senior NPA official noted that Lazarus usually sends emails to employees of targeted companies, pretending to be their executives. Using this method, Lazarus has hacked internal systems and stolen cryptocurrency from various Japanese crypto companies.
The information security firm’s Trend Micro Inc. employee Katsuyuki Okamoto, when talking about Lazarus, noted:
Lazarus initially targeted banks in various countries, but recently it has been aiming at crypto assets that are managed more loosely. It’s important to engage in public attribution, as it will raise public awareness of the perpetrator’s tactics and prompt people to take measures.
Although not disclosed, it is believed that Lazarus is responsible for the hack of the crypto exchange Zaif in 2018. At that time, hackers reportedly have stolen ¥6.7 billion (around $45M) in Bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies. On top of that, Lazarus is also considered responsible for draining Bitpoint Japan in 2019. The company has reportedly lost ¥3.5 billion (around $24M).
In August, deBridge Finance was a victim of an attempted cyberattack using the methods listed by NPA.
