FBI: N.Korea hackers stole over $400 mil. in crypto - NHKニュース

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation says North Korean hackers have stolen more than 400 million dollars worth of cryptocurrency in 18 months in a scheme called "FaceStealer."

The FBI announced on Thursday the scheme uses secretly recorded webcam video, taken from fake Zoom and Microsoft Teams meetings and computer intrusions, to steal from people around the world.

The hackers reportedly sent victims messages impersonating someone they know or someone significant in their industry. Victims were allegedly lured into a realistic but imposter Zoom or Teams meeting. When the meeting starts, victims would see a fake video displayed on the screen while their faces were recorded by the webcam.

Then, the impersonator would send messages to the victims, saying others cannot hear them. The hackers allegedly generated a fake error message indicating that the computer needed to perform an update. When victims ran the update or followed the hackers' instructions to fix the problem, they were downloading malware.

The FBI said the malware gave hackers access to victims' computers, their crypto and possibly their social media and communication accounts.

The hackers are believed to have continued the scheme by using the recorded faces of the victims to target their acquaintances.

The FBI said it had disrupted the infrastructure used by the hackers but more than 900 victim videos were stored on it. The victims included cybersecurity experts.