Crypto Theft | Breaking Cybersecurity News | The Hacker News

Cheap Android smartphones manufactured by Chinese companies have been observed pre-installed with trojanized apps masquerading as WhatsApp and Telegram that contain cryptocurrency clipper functionality as part of a campaign since June 2024. While using malware-laced apps to steal financial information is not a new phenomenon, the new findings from Russian antivirus vendor Doctor Web point to significant escalation where threat actors are directly targeting the supply chain of various Chinese manufacturers to preload brand new devices with malicious apps. "Fraudulent applications were detected directly in the software pre-installed on the phone," the company said . "In this case, the malicious code was added to the WhatsApp messenger." A majority of the compromised devices are said to be low-end phones that mimic well-known premium models from Samsung and Huawei with names like S23 Ultra, S24 Ultra, Note 13 Pro, and P70 Ultra. At least four of the affected mod...

Threat actors affiliated with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (also known as North Korea) have plundered at least $600 million in cryptocurrency in 2023. The DPRK "was responsible for almost a third of all funds stolen in crypto attacks last year, despite a 30% reduction from the USD 850 million haul in 2022," blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs  said  last week. "Hacks perpetrated by the DPRK were on average ten times as damaging as those not linked to North Korea." There are indications that  additional breaches  targeting the crypto sector towards the end of 2023 could push this figure higher to around $700 million. The targeting of cryptocurrency companies is not new for North Korean state-sponsored actors, who have  stolen about $3 billion  since 2017. These financially motivated attacks are seen as a crucial revenue-generation mechanism for the sanctions-hit nation, funding its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile pr...