Kenny Li, the co-founder of Manta Network, revealed that he was recently targeted by a Zoom phishing attack, which experts suspect was orchestrated by the notorious Lazarus group. The incident, which took place on April 17, shows the growing threat of cyberattacks in the crypto space.
Li shared details of the attempt in a post on X (formerly Twitter), explaining that he received a Zoom meeting request from a known contact. When he joined, the call appeared legitimate— the other participant’s camera was on, and everything seemed normal.
There was no sound on the call, and Li was asked to download a “Zoom update.” Feeling suspicious, he proposed switching to Google Meet or Telegram, but the impersonator immediately refused, blocked him, and deleted all previous messages.
After investigating, Li discovered that the real person whose identity had been used in the call had fallen victim to Lazarus, the same group that has been linked to several high-profile cyber attacks.
This phishing method isn’t new. Cybersecurity expert Nick Bax had previously warned of similar Zoom scams in March, where victims are told they can’t hear the other participants, leading them to click on a fake Zoom link to “fix” the issue. Once clicked, they are prompted to download malware.
Li’s experience echoes that of other crypto founders. Giulio Xiloyannis, co-founder of Mon Protocol, shared a similar tale of a hacker impersonating a project lead from another firm, while David Zhang, co-founder of Stably, avoided an attack after noticing suspicious activity during a Google Meet call.
These incidents serve as a good reminder to always double-check who you’re meeting with online, especially if you’re being asked to download anything or click on unknown links. With hackers like Lazarus constantly changing their tactics, staying cautious has never been more important.
