Last Updated on September 1, 2023 by Bitfinsider

Government agencies from the US and the UK have released an advisory paper alerting users to the possibility of new malware targeting cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges.

A joint report about the malware known as the “Infamous Chisel” was released by the National Security Agency (NSA), Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) of the United Kingdom, which is a division of Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ).

The malware has been linked to the operations of Sandworm, a cyberwarfare group under the GRU, Russia’s military intelligence agency, the study claims. The joint study also mentioned that Sandworm has been exploiting the new malware to extract data from infected mobile devices, specifically targeting Android smartphones used by the Ukrainian military.

According to the study, the malware was able to harvest some data from the directories of the Trust Wallet programme, as well as the exchange applications Binance and Coinbase. The report claims that all of the files, regardless of kind, in the specified directories are being exfiltrated.

The joint assessment also mentioned how little thought was given to the “concealment of malicious activity” when developing the components of the infamous Chisel. The malware doesn’t use any covert methods to conceal its actions. But the paper suggests that this might be because there aren’t any host-based detection solutions available for Android smartphones.

In the meantime, frauds, hacks, and exploits cost close to $1 billion in lost revenue in 2023. The blockchain security company CertiK said on September 1st that losses for the year had reached over $997 million. Approximately $45 million was lost to these kinds of attacks in August alone. Even so, the losses were a great deal less than they had been the month before. Cybercriminals stole digital assets valued at over $486 million in July.