A North Korean threat group known as Slow Pisces has launched a sophisticated cyberattack campaign, focusing on developers in the cryptocurrency industry through LinkedIn. Also referred to as TraderTraitor or Jade Sleet, the group impersonates recruiters offering legitimate job opportunities and coding challenges to deceive their targets. In reality, they deliver malicious Python and JavaScript code designed to compromise victims' systems.
This ongoing operation has led to massive cryptocurrency thefts. In 2023 alone, Slow Pisces was tied to cyber heists exceeding $1 billion. Notable incidents include a $1.5 billion breach at a Dubai exchange and a $308 million theft from a Japanese firm. The attackers typically initiate contact by sending PDFs containing job descriptions and later provide coding tasks hosted on GitHub. Although these repositories mimic authentic open-source projects, they are secretly altered to carry hidden malware.
As victims work on these assignments, they unknowingly execute malicious programs like RN Loader and RN Stealer on their devices. These infected projects resemble legitimate developer tools—for instance, Python repositories that claim to analyze stock market data but are actually designed to communicate with attacker-controlled servers.
The malware cleverly evades detection by using YAML deserialization techniques instead of commonly flagged functions like eval or exec. Once triggered, the loader fetches and runs additional malicious payloads directly in memory, making the infection harder to detect and eliminate.
One key malware component, RN Stealer, is built to extract sensitive information, including credentials, cloud configuration files, and SSH keys, especially from macOS systems. JavaScript-based versions of the malware behave similarly, leveraging the Embedded JavaScript templating engine to conceal harmful code. This code activates selectively based on IP addresses or browser signatures, targeting specific victims.
Forensic investigations revealed that the malware stores its code in hidden folders and uses HTTPS channels secured with custom tokens to communicate. However, experts were unable to fully recover the malicious JavaScript payload.
Both GitHub and LinkedIn have taken action against the threat.
"GitHub and LinkedIn removed these malicious accounts for violating our respective terms of service. Across our products, we use automated technology, combined with teams of investigation experts and member reporting, to combat bad actors and enforce terms of service. We continue to evolve and improve our processes and encourage our customers and members to report any suspicious activity," the companies said in a joint statement.
Given the increasing sophistication of these attacks, developers are urged to exercise caution when approached with remote job offers or coding tests. It is recommended to use robust antivirus solutions and execute unknown code within secure, sandboxed environments, particularly when working in the high-risk cryptocurrency sector.
Security experts advise using trusted integrated development environments (IDEs) equipped with built-in security features. Maintaining a vigilant and secure working setup can significantly lower the chances of falling victim to these state-sponsored cyberattacks.
