The software company – JumpCloud – based in Louisville, Colorado reported its first hack late in June, where the threat actors used their company’s systems to target “fewer than 5” of their clients.
While the IT company did not reveal the identity of its affected customers, cybersecurity firms CrowdStrike Holding and Alphabet-owned Mandiant – managing JumpCloud and its client respectively – claims that the perpetrators are known for executing heists targeting cryptocurrency.
Moreover, two individuals that were directly connected to the issue further confirmed the claim that the JumpCloud clients affected by the cyberattack were in fact cryptocurrency companies.
According to experts, these North Korea-backed threat actors, who once targeted firms piecemeal are now making efforts in strengthening their approach, using tactics like a “supply chain attack,” targeting companies that could provide them wider access to a number of victims at once.
However, Pyongyang’s mission to the UN did not respond to the issue. North Korea has previously denied claims of it being involved in cryptocurrency heists, despite surplus evidence claiming otherwise.
CrowdStrike has identified the threat actors as “Labyrinth Collima,” one of the popular North Korea-based operators. The group, according to Mandiant, works for North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau (RGB), its primary foreign intelligence agency.
However, the U.S. cybersecurity agency CISA and the FBI did not confirm the claim.
Labyrinth Chollima is one of North Korea’s most active hackers, claiming responsibility for some of the most notorious and disruptive cyber threats in the country. A staggering amount of funds has been compromised as a result of its cryptocurrency theft: An estimated $1.7 billion in digital currency was stolen by North Korean-affiliated entities, according to data from blockchain analytics company Chainalysis last year.
JumpCloud hack first came to light earlier this month when an email from the firm reached its customers, mentioning how their credentials would be changed “out of an abundance of caution relating to an ongoing incident.”
Adam Meyers, CrowdStrike’s Senior Vice President for Intelligence further warns against Pyongyang’s hacking squads, saying they should not be underestimated. "I don't think this is the last we'll see of North Korean supply chain attacks this year," he says.
