FBI disrupts intricate North Korean fake-call scheme tied to $400M in crypto theft
Marc Dufresne / Getty Images
ByDavid DiMolfetta,
Cybersecurity Reporter, Nextgov/FCW
November 12, 2026 05:21 PM ET
Hackers used recordings of trusted contacts to target cryptocurrency holders and software developers. Authorities separately secured court orders covering $1.2 billion stolen from Binance.
The FBI disrupted an elaborate North Korean hacking campaign that used secretly recorded videos of victims to impersonate them in online meetings, in a scheme that officials said Thursday has netted more than $400 million in stolen cryptocurrency and threatened widely used software.
The operation, dubbed FaceStealer, tricks people into joining fake video calls with what appear to be familiar contacts, then installing malicious software disguised as a fix for an audio problem. Hackers use the resulting access to steal funds, take over accounts and approach the victim’s friends and colleagues.
Authorities seized cloud infrastructure used in the campaign and more than 900...
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