Why are North Korean hackers targeting cryptocurrency startups with SnatchCrypto?

<p>BlueNorOff is a hacker organisation that targets cryptocurrency companies. </p> <p>Cybercrime, like technology, develops over time. Some of today's most effective cybercrime organisations are based in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), a totalitarian state headed by dictator Kim Jong-un. </p> <p>In January 2022, researchers discovered that a famous North Korean hacker organisation had been targeting cryptocurrency firms in numerous nations, taking millions of dollars in the process. </p> <p>This series of attacks on crypto businesses, dubbed SnatchCrypto, was discovered by researchers at the Russian antivirus firm Kaspersky. </p> <p>The campaign is purportedly being conducted out by BlueNorOff, a unit of the infamous North Korean cybercrime organisation Lazarus Group, also known as Guardians of Peace or Whois Team. </p> <p>BlueNorOff (also known as APT38, Stardust Chollima, BeagleBoyz, and NICKEL GLADSTONE) uses sophisticated social engineering tactics and impersonates reputable entities to deceive its victim into downloading infected files. </p> <p>For example, the group could share a document via Google Drive. The file may appear to be completely legitimate, with a name such as "Digital Investment Strategy." </p> <p>The organisation may also hack into another company and send an email to its target from an address belonging to that company. In one case, hackers broke into a registered corporation and took over its social media accounts. Using these identities, they delivered bogus business offers in the form of malicious documents to their targets. </p> <p>BlueNorOff does not always breach another company in order to attack its targets. In reality, it frequently impersonates businesses and then distributes dangerous files. </p> <p>According to Kaspersky, these attacks are successful because blockchain-based firms frequently get letters, contracts, offers, and other business-related information from unknown sources. </p> <p>The documents themselves appear, and in some cases are, legit