Hackers linked to North Korea stole more than $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 18 months using fake video calls, stolen identities and AI-generated deepfake videos, according to the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

According to the current exchange rate, 400 million US dollars is worth more than 60.29 billion rupees in Nepalese rupees.

The FBI has named this cybercrime campaign 'Facestealer'. The hackers are said to have mainly targeted people working in the cryptocurrency and web-3 sectors.

In the Facestealer campaign, hackers gain access to former victims' social media and communication accounts and send video meeting invitations to people they know. After reaching the meeting, the victim is tricked into believing by showing them a fake video of someone they know.

Hackers are also using AI-generated deepfake videos of influential and famous people, according to the FBI.

During video meetings, excuses are made of 'audio not working' or other technical problems. The victim is then prompted to open a link or follow some instructions to solve the problem. After clicking on the link, harmful software i.e. malware is injected into the victim's device.

After gaining access to the device, hackers can steal cryptocurrency as well as gain access to the victim's contact list, social networks and communication apps. Then other people known to the victim are also targeted for fraud in the same way.

Brett Leatherman, director of operations for the FBI's cyber branch, said the North Korean government steals large amounts of cryptocurrency to fund its illicit weapons program. According to him, billions of dollars have been stolen in this way in recent years.

Patrick Grandy, assistant director of the FBI's Los Angeles office, called FaceStealer an extremely effective social engineering fraud method. According to him, it can even attract people who have technical knowledge and are aware of cyber security.

According to the FBI, more than 900 webcam videos of Facestealer victims were recovered during the investigation.

According to the FBI, North Korean hackers have used trust in people they know and trust in video calls as a weapon of fraud. agency

Published: 27 Kartik 2083 21:39 Fri