Social engineering. Cybercriminals posing as recruiters to approach staff with bogus job offers

North Korean Hackers Target AstraZeneca Staff with Fake Job Offers

Incident Overview
In recent weeks, suspected North Korean hackers attempted to infiltrate the systems of British pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca as it rushed to roll out its COVID-19 vaccine.

Attack Method

• Hackers posed as recruiters on LinkedIn and WhatsApp.
• They approached AstraZeneca staff — including those working on COVID-19 research — with bogus job offers.
• Victims received malicious documents disguised as job descriptions, containing code designed to gain access to their computers.

Impact

• The attacks targeted a broad set of employees.
• Sources say no breaches were successful.
• If successful, stolen data could have been sold, used for extortion, or provided a strategic advantage to foreign governments.

Key Takeaway
This case underscores the importance of preparing employees for all possible social engineering methods — not only phishing, but also impersonation on professional and messaging platforms.