According to Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA), North Korean hackers belonging to Lazarus Group, a crime syndicate in Japan have been targeting crypto-company in Japan. Local reports detail that it’s the fifth time the NPA has tied “public attribution” to the organization of North Korean cyber criminals.
Japan’s Law Enforcement and Financial Regulator Warn Against Lazarus Group Attacks
According to the NPA’s cyber security report, hackers from Lazarus Group crime syndicate are targeting Japanese crypto companies. Officials have applied “public attribution” to the suspects and have noted that the hackers are from North Korea and most likely members of the Lazarus gang of cyber criminals.
The NPA calls Lazarus “a subordinate organization of the North Korean authorities” and says recent cyber attacks are “targeting crypto-asset-related businesses.” Japan’s NPA also notes that law enforcement officials from the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) have sent out similar warnings about Lazarus Group’s specific methods of attack.
The NPA details that the hackers send “employees phishing emails pretending to be executives of the target company,” and they also “approach employees of the target company” under the guise of a “false account.” The Japanese news organization Japan News details that this is the fifth time Japanese authorities have warned about the notorious Lazarus Group.
According to the report, Lazarus has never been identified by NPA. Japan News does report that certain sources have confirmed to Japan News that Lazarus may be responsible for hacking Zaif in 2018 as well as hacking Bitpoint Japan in 2019.
The NPA’s notice warns about engaging with suspicious phishing emails and shady characters leveraging a disguise. An executive from the information security firm Trend Micro, Katsuyuki Okamoto, says the NPA’s joint warning with the Financial Services Agency (FSA) is helpful by bringing attention to the matter.
“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,” Okamoto said in a statement on Saturday.
The latest notice from Japan’s NPA and FSA follows North Korea firing a ballistic missile over the country during the first week of October. In 2017, it was five years since Pyongyang last fired a missile at Japan. Tensions between the two countries have been heightened since North Korea’s recent missile provocation over Aomori Prefecture.
What do you think about Japan’s NPA and FSA warning about cyber attacks from the notorious hacking syndicate Lazarus Group? Please comment below to let us know your thoughts on this topic.
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