In a brazen social engineering attack using elaborate plots to fool its victims, North Korea-linked cybercrime group Lazarus has compromised dozens of defense and aerospace companies around the world, cybersecurity firm ClearSky disclosed on Thursday. 

The attack, called operation “Dream Job,” seems to be related to what Israel’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday called a “thwarted” attempt to compromise domestic networks.

According to ClearSky researchers, Lazarus’ use of WhatsApp voice calls and English conversation to target professionals represents a level of sophistication and risk-taking rarely seen in cyber attacks sponsored by governments.

“This campaign has been active since the beginning