Kraken explained in a May 1 blog post that the applicant showed up for an interview using a different name than the one listed on their application. They also sometimes changed their voice during the call, which suggested that someone else might help behind the scenes.

Instead of rejecting the candidate immediately, Kraken decided to move them forward in the process to learn more about how the attack was being carried out.

Did you know?

Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?

Subscribe – We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!

What is Algorand? ALGO Coin Explained With Animations

Kraken had already been alerted by others in the industry that hackers tied to North Korea were trying to get jobs at crypto companies. A list of suspicious email addresses had been shared with Kraken, and one matched the email the applicant used to apply.

Kraken’s security team found a network of fake identities linked to the candidate. They also spotted technical red flags, such as the use of remote Mac desktops through VPNs and identification documents that seemed edited.

When the hiring process reached its final stage, Kraken’s chief security officer, Nick Percoco, ran some identity verification tests designed to catch fake applicants. The candidate failed these tests, which confirmed that the person was not who they claimed to be.

Percoco stated that threats backed by states are not only a problem for the crypto industry and US businesses, but also pose risks worldwide.

A white hat hacker, c0ffeebabe.eth, recently intercepted a security breach at Morpho Labs, a decentralized lending platform. How did the company respond? Read the full story.

The funds were targeted after Morpho Labs pushed a front-end update to its Morpho Blue app, its decentralized finance (DeFi) platform, on April 10. That update introduced a flaw, and a hacker had found a way to take control of a wallet and drain it.

According to a report shared by PeckShield, a blockchain security company, the attacker managed to steal $2.6 million.

Did you know?

Want to get smarter & wealthier with crypto?

Subscribe – We publish new crypto explainer videos every week!

What is Algorand? ALGO Coin Explained With Animations

However, someone using the name “c0ffeebabe.eth“, known for ethical MEV (maximal extractable value) actions, front-ran the hacker’s transaction. This means they intercepted the stolen funds before they reached the attacker.

After the incident, Morpho Labs rolled back the update. In an April 11 post on X, the team confirmed it had been informed about the issue and took steps to fix it. They said all user funds within the main Morpho Protocol were safe and unaffected.

The team also noted that the front-end is now secure, and users do not need to take further action.

The update that caused the issue was meant to improve how transactions are handled. However, the change ended up generating some transactions incorrectly, which opened the door for the exploit. Morpho Labs said that it has found the problem and fixed it.

Meanwhile, cybersecurity firm Kaspersky recently reported that hackers are distributing fake Microsoft Office add-ins on SourceForge. What did they do? Read the full story.