US And UK Warn Users About 'Infamous Chisel' Malware Threats On Crypto Wallets And Exchanges

Illustration of Malware attacking computers. (photo: dock. pexels)

JAKARTA - Government agencies of the United States and Britain have issued warning reports to users regarding the caution of new malware used to attack crypto wallets and exchanges.

The United States National Security Agency (NSA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the UK National Cybersecurity Center (NCSC), which are part of the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), are collaborating to release a joint report on malware dubbed "Infamous Chisel."

According to the report, the malware is linked to Sandworm's activity, a cyber warfare unit working under the GRU, a Russian military intelligence agent. The joint report also notes that Sandworm has targeted Ukrainian military Android devices, using this new malware to retrieve information from compromised mobile devices.

The report notes that some of the data extracted by the malware includes data in the Binance and Coinbase application directorys, as well as Trust Wallet applications. According to reports, each file in the registered directory is extracted regardless of its type.

Joint reports also note that the Infamous Chisel components were developed with little attention to "harassment of malicious activity." The malware lacks an incognito technique to hide its activities. However, this may be due to the lack of host-based detection systems for Android devices, in accordance with the report.

Meanwhile, nearly $1 billion (Rp15.1 trillion) was lost due to exploitation, hacking, and fraud in 2023. On September 1, blockchain security firm CertiK reported that about 997 million US dpolars (Rp15 trillion) had been lost so far this year. Only in August, about 45 million US dollars (Rp679.8 billion) were lost as a result of such attacks. Although the amount is significant, this loss is much lower than the previous month. In July, more than 486 million US dollars (Rp7.3 trillion) of digital assets were lost due to dangerous attacks.