The cybersecurity firm has warned cryptocurrency users of attacks from North Korea as hackers develop “new, improved capabilities” to deliver malware through the popular messaging app Telegram.

Moscow-based Kaspersky Labs is analyzing new attacks from the “Lazarus Group,” a cybercrime group with ties to North Korea, to determine how its technologies have evolved since the “AppleJesus” attack on several cryptocurrency exchanges in 2018.

in search Spread On Wednesday, the cybersecurity firm said:

There are significant changes in the group attack methodology.

One case study involved what appeared to be a fake cryptocurrency wallet software update that, once downloaded, began transmitting user data to hackers.

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Another example is creating a backdoor for Mac software that bypasses security mechanisms without the computer realizing that it is under attack.

A new attack vector has also been prepared to deliver malware via files distributed on the Telegram messaging app.

The researchers found that computers on which the software was downloaded and processed originated from the group’s website, with embedded malware that would send sensitive data to hackers without the victim’s knowledge.

Many of these channels were intended for crypto companies, which were created by the hackers themselves.

One of the fake websites that was discovered recently was for a smart cryptocurrency arbitrage trading platform.

Kaspersky researchers have found that these sites are often incomplete and riddled with broken links.

Kaspersky said it was able to identify “several victims” from Poland, Russia, China and the United Kingdom, most of whom had ties to cryptocurrency.

But the “Lazarus Group” is still a mystery as it runs the malware through the computer’s memory instead of the hard drive to avoid detection by the antivirus.

Although the group is widely believed to be affiliated with North Korea, the Korean regime has repeatedly denied responsibility for the group’s attacks.

Read:Korean authorities ask Interpol to place a red notice on the founder of the Terra crypto project

Cybersecurity firm Group-IB has estimated that the group stole nearly $600 million in cryptocurrency in 2017-2018.

Since its attacks are so successful, Kaspersky researchers are convinced that the group will continue to steal cryptocurrencies.

According to the Kaspersky report:

This type of attack on cryptocurrency companies will continue and become more sophisticated.

The US Treasury placed “Lazarus Group” on the US sanctions list in 2019, meaning that any financial institution found doing business with it will face sanctions.

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