The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released an advisory warning that North Korean state-sponsored threat actors are leveraging malicious QR codes in spear-phishing campaigns. Specifically, the advisory notes that Kimsuky actors have targeted think tanks, academic institutions, and government entities, using embedded malicious Quick Response (QR) codes as of 2025.
While the immediate targets appear to be traditional institutions, this technique presents a significant vector risk for the Web3 security landscape. QR codes are fundamental to the daily operation of decentralized applications, primarily utilized for secure wallet connection protocols like WalletConnect, and for initiating or confirming transactions.
The expertise demonstrated by state-sponsored actors in combining sophisticated social engineering with these malicious codes poses a high danger of being repurposed to target and drain crypto wallets. Web3 users are highly susceptible to scanning QR codes due to routine use. We strongly urge all users to exercise extreme vigilance: never scan QR codes received via unsolicited emails or messaging platforms, and meticulously verify the destination URL before authorizing any wallet connection or transaction initiated through a QR code.
Source: FBI Warns North Korean Hackers Using Malicious QR Codes in Spear-Phishing
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