Tech Teacher

Author/Source: The Hacker News See the full link here

Takeaway

This article explains how hackers from North Korea created and spread hundreds of fake software packages to trick computer programmers. You will learn how these bad packages could steal important information from companies and their customers.

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Technical Subject Understandability

Intermediate

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Analogy/Comparison

This attack is like a group of sneaky people creating many fake building blocks and putting them into a store where real ones are sold. When builders use these fake blocks for their projects, the sneaky people can then secretly get into the buildings they made.

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Why It Matters

This topic is important because these kinds of attacks can allow hackers to secretly steal private information from many companies and their users without them knowing. For instance, the article mentions that these fake software packages were used to try and get sensitive data such as login details and financial information.

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Related Terms

Supply chain attack, npm, phishing. Jargon Conversion: A supply chain attack is when hackers hide harmful code inside a trusted piece of software that many other programs rely on. npm (Node Package Manager) is a large online library where software developers share and download pre-written code parts. Phishing is a trick where hackers pretend to be someone you trust to get you to give away private information.