RESEARCHERS USED FALSE ENCRYPTION TO LURE NORTH KOREAN IT WORKERS AND EXPOSE THEIR MEANS OF INCOME GENERATION

According to Cointelegraph, Mauro Eldrich, founder of the BCA Ltd, and Heiner García, a Telefónica Tech analyst, set up a false encryption start-up company, Ballena Azul, to induce suspected Korean IT workers to work in a controlled environment for five weeks and monitor their behaviour. The investigation found that the servers used by the workers concerned were related to the DPRK infrastructure for distribution of InvisibleFerret, Beavertail and OtterCookie malicious software, and that the workers used ChatGPT and Google Gemini to forge identity. The United States Department of the Treasury data indicate that such plans generate nearly $800 million for Korea in 2024。