FBI Says North Korean Hackers Stole $400M via Fake Video Calls

The FBI and Justice Department say a North Korean hacking campaign called FaceStealer stole more than $400 million in cryptocurrency over 18 months by exploiting trusted contacts and fake video meetings. Attackers use secretly recorded webcam footage—and, increasingly, AI-generated deepfakes—to impersonate people victims know, then prompt them to install malware under the guise of fixing a technical problem. The malware can enable cryptocurrency theft, account takeovers and further attacks through victims’ contacts; investigators seized infrastructure used in the campaign and more than 900 victim webcam recordings. Authorities also said the hackers compromised a software developer’s computer in an attempted supply-chain attack, which was stopped before it spread widely. Officials distinguish FaceStealer from the separate North Korean-linked theft of billions from Binance, for which the Justice Department has obtained authorization to seize or restrain more than $1.2 billion.