- The hacker posed as an engineer to infiltrate Kraken during a job interview.
- Kraken used real-time tactics to expose the applicant’s identity.
- Crypto firms face rising threats from North Korean insider infiltration.
Kraken identified a North Korean hacker attempting to enter the company by posing as an engineering job applicant. Instead of alerting authorities, the exchange launched an internal operation to gather intelligence from the candidate during the interview process. This discovery was shared in Kraken’s official blog on May 1.
Interview Process Becomes Intelligence Gathering Operation
Kraken initially treated the application as a routine hiring process. The applicant had applied for an engineering role at the exchange. However, suspicions began to arise during the early stages of interaction with the candidate. Kraken stated that it received prior alerts from industry partners about similar job applications involving North Korean operatives.
The team initiated specific verification steps as the interview progressed to confirm the candidate’s identity. These included a request for government-issued identification and questions about the applicant’s location. The applicant was also asked to name local restaurants from the claimed city of residence. These questions were designed to assess the authenticity of the individual’s background in real time.
According to Kraken, the candidate failed to respond accurately to several of these inquiries. The incapacity to answer basic questions about the region increased additional red flags. By the end of the consultation, the team confined that the individual was not who they claimed to be.
Cryptocurrency Firms on Alert Amid Rising Threats
Kraken emphasized that this incident aligned with growing concerns across the crypto sector. It reported that multiple companies had informed them of similar threats involving North Korean hackers. These hackers were reportedly applying for positions at blockchain and cryptocurrency-related firms.
The company’s internal findings follow broader industry concerns about insider threats. According to TechCrunch, North Korean hackers stole over $650 million in 2023. Many of these attacks reportedly used hired IT professionals to penetrate secure networks under false identities.
North Korea’s Role in Major Cyber Incidents
Kraken referred to high-profile cyberattacks linked to the Lazarus Group, a hacking organization based in North Korea. This group is accused of orchestrating the largest crypto hack to date. The Bybit breach resulted in over $1.5 billion in losses and has been attributed to North Korean actors.
During the Kraken interview, the team reportedly introduced two-factor authentication prompts to confuse the applicant. The aim was to observe the candidate’s reactions and technical behavior under pressure.
These tactics further confirmed that the person was attempting to infiltrate the exchange’s internal systems. Kraken concluded the interview after verifying the attempt was fraudulent. The case has contributed to growing awareness of hiring-based threats in the cryptocurrency space.
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