News
North Korean Hackers Are Infiltrating Crypto Job Boards in $600M ‘Silent War’ – DL News
- Fake candidates are testing cryptocurrency’s adoption of anonymity.
- According to the United Nations, 4,000 North Koreans are trying to enter the tech sector by obtaining jobs.
- “There is a silent war going on,” says one expert.
Hiring in the cryptocurrency industry has never been easy.
Finding qualified developers is difficult, as is managing remote workers who operate in different time zones.
Now, hiring in the cryptocurrency industry is about to get even more difficult.
A DL News An investigation has uncovered that fake candidates are flooding job boards with doctored resumes.
Furthermore, mounting evidence suggests that many of these fake candidates are North Korean nationals seeking to infiltrate crypto projects for nefarious purposes, including sensitive data collection, hacking, and asset theft.
“It’s an operational risk for the industry,” said Shaun Potts, founder of cryptocurrency-specific recruiting firm Plexus. DL News. “It’s an ongoing thing, in the same way that hacking is an ongoing thing within technology. You can’t stop it, but you can minimize the risks.”
Hiding identities
According to the United Nations Security Council, more than 4,000 North Koreans have been tricked into sneaking into tech jobs in the West by hiding their identities. This includes the cryptocurrency sector.
In a recent 615-page report, the council said that over the past seven years, in 58 alleged cyber heists, North Korean hackers have stolen $3 billion worth of cryptocurrency.
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While it’s unclear how many of these thefts were perpetrated with the help of fake employees, experts fear this trend is just getting started.
“They illegally sell resources, computer labor, hard labor, and hacking.”
— Taylor Monahan, MetaMask
That’s because it’s big business. The bogus hiring scheme alone earns North Korea up to $600 million a year, the UN said.
“They have very limited amounts of assets that they can sell to China,” said Taylor Monahan, senior security researcher at cryptocurrency wallet MetaMask. DL News“So they generate revenue by doing things like illegal asset sales, computer work, heavy lifting, and hacking.”
New challenge
This development is a new challenge for an industry that is going mainstream. With the launch of Bitcoin ETFs, Wall Street has embraced cryptocurrencies as an asset class. DeFi mainstays like Solana and Aave are seeing revenue increase and expanding their activities.
The last thing cryptocurrencies need is an army of fake candidates as the industry expands and demand for new hires skyrockets.
Ten of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges, including Coinbase and Binance, have posted more than 1,200 new openings in May. Layoffs are also slowing.
According to data from Layoffs.fyiThe number of unemployed in the cryptocurrency sector dropped sharply in the first quarter compared to the same period last year.
“They just added a couple of new roles to make them appear differently in LinkedIn search.”
— Karolis Kundrotas, Partner Durlston
“Everyone I know is either working on another project or is unavailable,” said Zak Cole, co-founder of cryptocurrency studio Number Group. DL News“How will we attract new talent?”
The answer is: cast your net wider.
AI Research
Instead of going through a formal recruitment agency, Cole and his co-founders used an AI tool called Applicant AI to screen candidates. It uses AI to flag keywords in resumes that match their criteria.
The results were mixed. In a video interview with Number Group, a candidate who listed Dutch as his native language hung up when asked to speak in that language.
Another candidate’s GitHub profile, a LinkedIn profile for programmers, had only been created a month earlier, even though the application was for a senior developer role.
On another resume, a remote-work candidate listed a state penitentiary in Texas as his home address.
When asked whether they actually lived in prison, the applicant replied: “Yes.”
Cole’s primary concern was making sure the candidates were who they said they were.
He said that as he pored over them and arranged interviews, a pattern emerged: Many refused to turn on the cameras.
Video Calls
Often, what they said in interviews contradicted what was written on their CVs. In other words, they were lying.
“They all have the same kind of script,” Cole said. He said their backgrounds were also blurry when they appeared on camera and that they were calling from a room with other people in it.
Karolis Kundrotas, a cryptocurrency industry consultant at recruiting firm Durlston Partners, said many candidates copy real LinkedIn profiles.
“It’s exactly the same experiences, and it’s exactly the same type of education as a real person,” he said. “They just added a couple of new roles to make them show up differently in LinkedIn search.”
Kundrotas said video calls are also key because they allow you to see if the person is quickly reading more information before responding.
One candidate did exactly this during a shared video call with DL News.
The applicant stated that he had in-depth knowledge of non-fungible tokens and crypto games, but had never heard of “Axie Infinity,” one of the largest and most well-known games in the industry.
Of course, this is a big alarm bell.
Avoid background checks
In addition to being a huge waste of time, these fake candidates are also undermining a fundamental pillar of cryptocurrency ethics.
Anonymity and pseudonymity are valuable in the cryptocurrency world. The tendency of project teams to avoid background checks and work at breakneck startup speeds makes them a prime target for illegitimate hiring schemes.
Because of this, Potts says 95 percent of his clients have stopped hiring pseudonymous developers.
“People underestimate the low bar in a lot of cryptocurrencies,” said MetaMask’s Monahan. “It’s actually not that uncommon for a random project to hire someone to do some work and then quickly level them up.”
This may be what North Korea’s sleeper candidates are counting on.
Monthly salary of $60,000
Some undercover North Korean cryptocurrency workers earn up to $60,000 a month and work a variety of full-time and freelance jobs.
According to the UN report, top earners can keep 30% of their earnings and hand over the rest to the authorities in Pyongyang.
Given the reports of extreme poverty In North Korea the sums are huge for individuals.
This is why startups need to be diligent.
“They will continue to flood job boards, build resumes, and pursue cryptocurrency companies and projects as long as they are effective,” Monahan said.
Their work also has a geopolitical significance.
Erin Plante, vice president of investigations at Chainalysis, said that there is trial North Korea is partly funding its nuclear weapons program by hacking cryptographic sites. The Lazarus Group, a North Korean hacking operation, They broke into the Ronin Bridge for $540 million in 2022, according to blockchain analytics firm Elliptic.
In 2019, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Lazarus.
If North Korea is using fake candidates as part of this program, that’s a major issue, said Adam Zarzinski, CEO of blockchain analytics firm Inca Digital.
“There’s this silent war going on,” said Zarzinski, a former judge advocate for the U.S. Air Force. DL News.
Liam Kelly is a DeFi correspondent at DL NewsContact us at liam@dlnews.com.
News
Cryptocurrency Price August 1: Bitcoin Dips Below $65K; Solana, XRP Down Up To 8%
Major cryptocurrencies fell in Thursday trading following the Federal Reserve’s decision to keep its key interest rate unchanged. Overnight, the U.S. Federal Reserve kept its key interest rate at 5.25-5.5% for the eighth consecutive time, as expected, while also signaling the possibility of a rate cut at its next meeting in September. The unanimous decision by the Federal Open Market Committee reflects a continued wait-and-see approach as it monitors inflation trends.
CoinSwitch Markets Desk said: “Bitcoin has fallen below $65,000 after the US Federal Reserve announced it would keep interest rates unchanged. However, with markets now anticipating rate cuts at the next Federal Reserve meeting in September, the outlook for a Bitcoin rally by the end of the year has strengthened.”
Meanwhile, CoinDCX research team said: “The crypto market has plunged after the Fed decision. Tomorrow’s US unemployment rate announcement is expected to induce more volatility, with the ‘actual’ figure coming in higher than the ‘expected’ one, which is positive for cryptocurrencies.”
At 12:21 pm IST, Bitcoin (BTC) was down 3.2% at $64,285, while Ethereum was down nearly 4.5% at $3,313. Meanwhile, the global market cryptocurrency The market capitalization fell 3.6% to around $2.3 trillion in the last 24 hours.
“Bitcoin needs to clear its 200-day EMA at $64,510 to consolidate further. Otherwise, a retest of $62,000 could be in the cards,” said Vikram Subburaj, CEO of Giottus.
Altcoins and meme coins, such as BNB (3%), Solana (8%), XRP (5.7%), Dogecoin (5%), Cardano (4.6%), Avalanche (4.3%), Shiba Inu (3.8%), Polkadot (3.4%), and Chainlink (4%) also saw declines.
The volume of all stablecoins is now $71.64 billion, which is 92.19% of the total cryptocurrency market volume in 24 hours, according to data available on CoinMarketCap. Bitcoin’s dominance is currently 54.99%. BTC volume in the last 24 hours increased by 23.3% to $35.7 billion.
(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, opinions and views provided by experts are personal. They do not represent the views of the Economic Times)
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News
Altcoins WIF, BONK, RUNE, JUP Down 10% While Bitcoin Drops 4%
Altcoins dogwifhat, Bonk, THORChain, and Jupiter have suffered losses of more than 10%, while Bitcoin is down 4% in the last 24 hours.
After a period of relative calm yesterday, July 31, Bitcoin (BTC) price action has seen a drastic change as the cryptocurrency dropped by more than $3,500, bringing its value to $63,300. At the same time, altcoins mirrored this trend, with the total value of liquidated positions rising to nearly $225 million over the course of the day.
Initially, the week started on a positive note for Bitcoin, which reached its highest point since early June, hitting $70,000. However, this peak was short-lived, as it was quickly rejected, leading to a substantial decline, with Bitcoin falling below $65,500.
The cryptocurrency managed to regain some stability, trading comfortably at around $66,800. However, following a Press conference According to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, the value of Bitcoin has fallen again to $64,300, down more than 3% in 24 hours.
BTC Price Chart 24 Hours | Source: crypto.news
The recession coincided with a relationship from the New York Times stating that Iran had called for retaliatory measures against Israel following the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, increasing the risk of further conflict in the region.
Meanwhile, on the economic front, the Federal Reserve decided to keep its benchmark interest rates in place, offering little information on a planned September rate cut. Powell also hinted that while no concrete decisions have been made on the September adjustment, there is growing consensus that a rate cut is likely.
Amid Bitcoin’s decline, altcoins have suffered even more significant losses. For example, dogwifhat (Wife) saw a 12.4% drop and (DISGUST) has suffered a 10% drop. Other altcoins such as THORChain (RUNE) also fell by 10%, while Jupiter (JUPITER) and the Ethereum naming service (ENS) decreased by 8% and 9% respectively.
Among the largest-cap cryptocurrencies, the biggest losers are Solana (SOL) with a decrease of 8%, (Exchange rate risk) down 6%, Cardano (ADA) down 4%, and both Ethereum (ETH) and Dogecoin (DOGE) recording a decrease of 4.4%.
Data from CoinGlass indicates that approximately 67,000 traders have been negatively impacted by this increased volatility. BTC positions have seen $61.85 million in liquidations, while ETH positions have faced $61 million. In total, the value of liquidated positions stands at $225.4 million at the time of writing.
News
Riot Platforms Sees 52% Drop in Bitcoin Production in Q2
Bitcoin mining firm Riot Platforms has released its second-quarter financial results, highlighting a decline in cryptocurrency mined due to the recent halving.
Colorado-based Bitcoin (BTC) mining company Riot platforms revealed its second quarter financial results, highlighting a significant reduction in mined cryptocurrencies attributed to the recent halving event that took place in early April.
The company reported total revenue of $70 million for the quarter ended July 31, a decline of 8.7% compared to the same period in 2023. Riot Platforms attributed the revenue decline primarily to a $9.7 million decrease in engineering revenue, which was partially mitigated by a $6 million increase in Bitcoin extraction income.
During the quarter, the company mined 844 BTC, representing a decline of over 50% from Q2 2023, citing the halving event and increasing network difficulty as major factors behind the decline. Riot Platforms reported a net loss of $84.4 million, or $0.32 per share, missing Zacks Research forecast a loss of $0.16 per share.
Halving increases competitive pressure
The Colorado-based firm said the average cost of mining one BTC in the second quarter, including energy credits, rose to $25,327, a remarkable 341% increase from $5,734 per BTC in the same quarter of 2023. Despite this significant increase in production costs, the firm remains optimistic about maintaining competitiveness through recent deals.
For example, following the Recent acquisition Cryptocurrency firm Block Mining, Riot has increased its distributed hash rate forecast from 31 EH/s to 36 EH/s by the end of 2024, while also increasing its 2025 forecast from 40 EH/s to 56 EH/s.
Riot Platforms Hashrate Growth Projections by 2027 | Source: Riot Platforms
Commenting on the company’s financials, Riot CEO Jason Les said that despite the halving, the mining company still managed to achieve “significant operational growth and execution of our long-term strategy.”
“Despite this reduction in production available to all Bitcoin miners, Riot reported $70 million in revenue for the quarter and maintained strong gross margins in our core Bitcoin mining business.”
Jason Les
Following its Q2 financial report, Riot Platforms shares fell 1.74% to $10.19, according to Google Finance data. Meanwhile, the American miner continues to chase Canadian rival Bitfarms, recently acquiring an additional 10.2 million BITF shares, increasing its stake in Bitfarms to 15.9%.
As previously reported by crypto.news, Riot was the first announced a $950 million takeover bid for Bitfarms in late May, arguing that Bitfarms’ founders were not acting in the best interests of all shareholders. They said their proposal was rejected by Bitfarms’ board without substantive engagement.
In response, Bitfarms She said that Riot’s offer “significantly understates” its growth prospects. Bitfarms subsequently implemented a shareholder rights plan, also known as a “poison pill,” to protect its strategic review process from hostile takeover attempts.
News
Aave Price Increases Following Whales Accumulation and V3.1 Launch
Decentralized finance protocol Aave is seeing a significant spike in whale activity as the market looks to recover from the recent crash that pushed most altcoins into key support areas earlier this week.
July 31, Lookonchain shared details indicating that the whales had aggressively accumulated Aave (AAVE) over the past two days. According to the data, whales have withdrawn over 58,848 AAVE worth $6.47 million from exchanges during this period.
In one instance, whale address 0x9af4 withdrew 11,185 AAVE worth $1.23 million from Binance. Meanwhile, another address moved 21,619 AAVE worth over $2.38 million from the exchange and deposited the tokens into Aave.
These withdrawals follow a previous transfer of 26,044 AAVE from whale address 0xd7c5, amounting to over $2.83 million withdrawn from Binance.
AAVE price has surged over 7% in the past 24 hours amid buy-side pressure from these whales. The DeFi token is currently trading around $111 after jumping over 18% in the past week.
Recently, the price of AAVE increased by over 8% after Aave founder Marc Zeller announced a proposed fee change aimed at adopting a buyback program for AAVE tokens.
Aave v3.1 is available
The total value locked in the Aave protocol currently stands at around $22 billion. According to DeFiLlamaApproximately $19.9 billion is on Aave V3, while the V2 chain still holds approximately $1.9 billion in TVL and V1 approximately $14.6 million.
Aave Labs announced Previously, Aave V3.1 was made available on all networks with active Aave V3 instances.
V3.1 features improvements that are intended to improve the overall security of the DeFi protocol. The Aave DAO governance has approved the v3.1 improvements, which also include operational efficiency and usability for the network.
Meanwhile, Aave Labs recently outlined a ambitious roadmap for the projectwith a 2030 vision for Aave V4, among other developments.
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