The crypto community is facing a new kind of threat—North Korean devs are infiltrating crypto companies to steal millions and funnel funds back to the regime in order to bypass sanctions. In this episode, Sam Kessler, CoinDesk’s deputy managing editor for tech and protocols, and Taylor Monahan, security at MetaMask, explain how North Korea has embedded its operatives into the crypto space, the red flags companies should watch for, and what these hackers are doing once inside crypto firms.Plus, they share their most interesting stories about how these hackers have gotten hired at crypto companies and the red flags the industry should know about. Show highlights:What Sam found in his investigation about North Koreans infiltrating the industryHow Taylor has found that this is a recurring issueWhy Sam and Taylor refer to these infiltrated workers as ‘IT’ workersThe most interesting stories that Sam and Taylor have discoveredThe trends in the hiring process that lead to North Koreans being hired and also what the big red flags areHow “easy it is to de-anonymize” addresses and transactions in blockchainsWhat assets and networks these workers often use to get paidHow, after infiltrating a company, those projects get hackedHow to deal with a situation in which you’ve already hired North KoreansHow to protect a protocol from another type of North Korean hack: by hacking groupsWhether the industry is getting better at securityVisit our website for breaking news, analysis, op-eds, articles to learn about crypto, and much more: unchainedcrypto.comThank you to our sponsors!PolkadotMantleGuests:Sam Kessler, CoinDesk's deputy managing editor for tech and protocolsCoinDesk: How North Korea Infiltrated the Crypto IndustryTaylor Monahan, Co-Founder of MyEtherWalletPrevious appearances on Unchained:The QuadrigaCX Case: Taylor Monahan on What We Know From the BlockchainMyCrypto's Taylor Monahan on Why She's Not a Fan of ICOsLinksPrevious coverage of Unchained on North Korea:Why North Korea Is Interested in CryptocurrencyYeonmi Park on Why Doing Business With North Korea Is Like Buying a Ticket to a Concentration CampOthers:DL News: North Korean hackers are infiltrating crypto job boards in a ‘quiet war’ that rakes in $600mFBI PSA: North Korea Aggressively Targeting Crypto Industry with Well-Disguised Social Engineering AttacksChainalysis: 2024 Crypto Crime Mid-year Update Part 1: Cybercrime Climbs as Exchange Thieves and Ransomware Attackers Grow BolderFunds Stolen from Crypto Platforms Fall More Than 50% in 2023, but Hacking Remains a Significant Threat as Number of Incidents RisesRussian and North Korean Cyberattack Infrastructure Converge: New Hacking Data Raises National Security ConcernsZachXBT: How Lazarus Group laundered $200M from 25+ crypto hacks to fiat from 2020–2023Timestamps: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices