Cybersecurity is one of the main concerns in the cryptocurrency market, where a hacker attack, even a simple one, can drain someone’s wallet in seconds, or else take control of accounts and social networks to spread scams. Changpeng “CZ” ZhaoCEO of Binance, the world’s largest exchange, told his followers to watch out for another attack threat, which could come from files that appear safe.
CZ warned of an attack targeting an alleged Excel file that shows a relationship between the rates of different brokers, but it is in fact a trojan with malicious code that allows the system to be hacked by the creators of the attack,
“Do not download any files! Hacked friends can send you an excel file called ‘Exchange Rate Comparison.xls’. It can contain malicious code with backdoors and everything in between,” said CZ.
Do not download files!
Compromised friends can send a weaponized excel file called “exchange fee comparision.xls”. It contains malicious code, encrypted backdoor and etc.
Hackers target the cryptocurrency industry – Microsoft Security Blog https://t.co/62F1Yh4u5u
— CZ 🔶 Binance (@cz_binance) December 7, 2022
The CZ warning is based on a post on the official Microsoft blog, which also warns of the file’s risk and provides more details on how the vector infects and spreads through systems.
Hacker attack targeting cryptocurrency profit
The article, titled “DEV-0139 Launches Targeted Attack on Crypto Market”, claims that the growth of cryptocurrencies in recent years has attracted the attention not only of investors, but also of threats, which directly target organizations in the cryptocurrency sector for financial gain.
“Attacks on this market have taken many forms, including fraud, exploitation of vulnerabilities, bogus apps, and the use of information thieves, as attackers seek to get their hands on cryptocurrency funds,” the post states.
Cryptocurrency attacks remain common and the idea is always similar: to infect and spread across systems. In doing so, the DEV-0139 attack infects computers and spreads the malicious file to the infected person’s contacts using a bit of social engineering.
“We also see more complex attacks where the threat actor demonstrates great knowledge and preparation, taking steps to gain the trust of their target before deploying payloads,” the report said.
That’s why it’s important to always be wary of any file, photos, PDFs, .docs or .xls. Each of these files can contain a malicious package that can in an instant cause great financial damage to the infected person and others around them.
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Source: Live Coins
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
