The Interview Trap: How Job Assignments Became Malware Vectors

This attack reveals a critical vulnerability in developer recruitment workflows, exploiting legitimate-looking job interview assignments to deliver sophisticated credential stealers targeting API keys, credentials, and crypto assets. The malware leverages npm's automatic postinstall hooks to execute before developers can audit code, turning the hiring process into a supply chain attack vector. The attack's precision—from professional social engineering to keyword-targeted file system searches—demonstrates why developers must audit all code before execution, regardless of source credibility.