Safeguarding Tech Minds and Honoring Innovators on Techies Day and Beyond

Every line of code, algorithm, and design that shapes our modern lives comes from the bright minds of tech professionals. This October 3, on Techies Day, we celebrate the engineers, developers, analysts, designers, and innovators who keep our digital world running.

From powering streaming platforms to designing secure banking systems and developing AI breakthroughs, techies fuel progress and make innovation possible. And let’s not forget the cybersecurity specialists, the techies working behind the scenes to defend systems, secure data, and outsmart cybercriminals.

But there’s another side to this story: while tech professionals are building the future, hackers and fraudsters are working just as hard to undermine it.

When the Builders Become the Targets

Cybercriminals know that the easiest way to compromise an organization isn’t always to storm its walls. It’s to go after the builders themselves. Developers and IT specialists often have privileged access, making them attractive targets for intellectual property theft, source code leaks, and ransomware attacks.

Take the case of the Lazarus Group, a notorious cybercrime collective linked to North Korea. As Bitdefender researchers uncovered, Lazarus has been operating a sophisticated LinkedIn recruiting scam targeting software engineers and IT professionals.

And it all starts with a message request via a platform such as LinkedIn from a recruiter offering a lucrative job, often in the crypto or Web3 space:

• The offers promise huge salaries, hourly rates, flexible schedules, and perks that seem too good to be true.
• Recruiter profiles are often clones of real people, impersonations, or AI-generated fakes.
• Some “recruiters” even conduct full interviews with candidates to build credibility.
• At some point, the victim is asked to run “demo code” during the interview process — often under pressure, since it is presented as part of an urgent skills test.

The catch? That code is malware. Once executed, it deploys obfuscated loaders that fetch payloads capable of stealing credentials, fingerprinting systems, and exfiltrating crypto wallet data.

Bitdefender is still monitoring this phenomenon, observing new repositories, malware samples, and evolving techniques. The trend shows no signs of slowing down, and it underscores a dangerous truth: even tech-savvy professionals can be manipulated through clever social engineering.

Techies and the Rising Threat of Malvertising

Lazarus-style scams aren’t the only danger – malvertising or malicious ads placed on trusted platforms is another threat techies must watch closely.

Cybercriminals frequently abuse Google Ads, Meta Ads, and even search engine results (SEO poisoning) to push fraudulent downloads disguised as popular tools. Some recent campaigns have impersonated well-known software, including Photoshop, Canva, Office 365, CapCut, and even AI productivity apps.

Here’s how it works:

• Users search for legitimate software online.
• Sponsored or poisoned results lead them to a website that mirrors the official page almost perfectly.
• Instead of the genuine software, the user downloads a trojanized installer that delivers malware.

This tactic is especially dangerous for techies, who are constantly testing and installing new tools. The malware delivered in these campaigns can hijack accounts, steal browser cookies, or even deploy infostealers that spread further inside organizations.

You may also want to read:

• The Scam That Won’t Quit: Malicious “TradingView Premium” Ads Jump from Meta to Google and YouTube
• Weaponizing Facebook Ads: Inside the Multi-Stage Malware Campaign Exploiting Cryptocurrency Brands
• AI meets next-gen info stealers in social media malvertising campaigns

Staying Safe: Best Practices for Techies

Whether dealing with recruiting scams or malvertising, vigilance and smart practices are essential:

• Pause and verify offers. Take time to analyze the recruiter’s profile, company details, and job description. If it sounds too good to be true, it often is.
• Run code safely. Never execute test files or “demo code” on a production machine. Use virtual machines or containerized environments to isolate risks.
• Check domains and sources. If a site for a well-known software tool was created just days ago, see it as a red flag. Always cross-check with official sources.
• Be skeptical of ads. Don’t blindly trust top search results or sponsored ads. Bookmark the official websites of the tools you use most often.
• Use malware sandboxes. When in doubt, upload suspicious files to trusted malware sandboxes or scan them with a security solution.
• Leverage security tools. Robust security solutions from Bitdefender provide multi-layered protection to keep you safe against cyber threats, from viruses, malware, spyware, ransomware, and the most sophisticated phishing attacks.

A Word of Advice from a Fellow Techie

As Bitdefender researcher Ionuț Baltariu notes:

“Always second-guess what you see online — whether it’s an advertisement, a software link, a news story, or a recruiter message. The best defense against threats is a critical eye and a cautious attitude. Double-check and cross-validate whenever possible. Run unknown code only in virtualized or containerized environments, and don’t hesitate to ask clarifying questions that may reveal fraudulent recruiters. Refer to trusted sources and official websites, and use third-party security tools when in doubt. There’s no shield that can protect against 100% of threats, but with the right precautions, most of us can stay safe.”

On Techies Day, we honor the innovators whose work shapes our lives. But honoring them also means recognizing the threats they face and giving them the protection they need.

At Bitdefender, we know that innovators who help build tomorrow’s connected world need just as much protection as the users consuming it. That’s why our security solutions ensure that tech professionals are protected at every layer.