How North Koreans Steal from Employers

Visit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.com

Security remains work in progress for crypto — and that may be putting it mildly. This year Bybit was hacked for $1.5 billion, the largest exploit ever, crypto or otherwise. 

In this Unchained episode, Security Alliance members explain how crypto exploits have evolved, why smart contracts are no longer the primary vulnerability and why a security plan alone may not be enough.

They take us inside how North Koreans are getting jobs at crypto and tech companies and how they operate. 

Plus, best practices for individuals that intend to hold their assets for the long-term. Test transactions and 2FA based on authenticator apps may not be ideal.

Thank you to our sponsors, ⁠Uniswap⁠ and ⁠Mantle⁠!

Guests:

• Pablo Sabbatella, Member of SEAL (Security Alliance) and Founder of Opsek

• Isaac Patka, Wargames Initiative Lead at SEAL, and Founder of Shield3

Links:

• Unchained:

• How the $1.5 Billion Bybit Hack Could Have Been Prevented

• The Chopping Block: Code, Chaos & Consequences — What the Balancer Hack and Rollback Debates Mean for Crypto’s Future

• How AI Agents Hacked Smart Contracts for $1 Apiece – DEX in the City

• DEX in the City: How Privacy in Crypto Makes Everyone’s Finances More Secure

• Chainalysis crypto crime report

• SEAL 911 bot

• SEAL website with profiles of confirmed DPRK IT workers

Timestamps:

🚀 00:00 Introduction 

⚠️ 1:27 How social engineering has become the primary driver of crypto exploits

🤔 8:28 What does SEAL do?

💡 12:08 Why safe harbor for white hats matters

👀 14:41 Why North Koreans are infiltrating U.S. companies?

🫠 18:03 How the North Korean IT jobs scheme has evolved with “laptop farms”

😬 22:05 How North Korean IT workers steal crypto from companies and how to avoid hiring them

⚠️ 32:20 Isaac explains how companies can minimize losses even with North Korean hackers on staff

🤯 35:52 Why Isaac doesn't do test transactions

❕️ 38:19 How Bybit was targeted

⁉️ 49:41 The primary ways individuals get hacked

🚨 54:28 How individuals can avoid getting rekt

💡 1:08:42 What privacy means for crypto security

🤧 1:12:38 What to do if your assets are stolen

💫 1:15:41 Useful security resources for individuals and companies

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