North Korean spy slips up, reveals ties in fake job interview

A North Korean crypto spy revealed more than he should have in a dummy interview set up as part of a sting operation.

For months, Cointelegraph took part in an investigation centered around a suspected North Korean operative that uncovered a cluster of threat actors attempting to score freelancing gigs in the cryptocurrency industry.

The investigation was led by Heiner Garcia, a cyber threat intelligence expert at Telefónica and a blockchain security researcher. Garcia uncovered how North Korean operatives secured freelance work online even without using a VPN.

Garcia’s analysis linked the applicant to a network of GitHub accounts and fake Japanese identities believed to be associated with North Korean operations. In February, Garcia invited Cointelegraph to take part in a dummy job interview he had set up with a suspected Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) operative who called himself “Motoki.”

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