One simple AI prompt saved me from disaster.
Not fancy security tools. Not expensive antivirus software. Just asking my coding assistant to look for suspicious patterns before executing unknown code.
The scary part? This attack vector is perfect for developers. We download and run code all day long. GitHub repos, npm packages, coding challenges. Most of us don't sandbox every single thing.
And this was server-side malware. Full Node.js privileges. Access to environment variables, database connections, file systems, crypto wallets. Everything.
If this sophisticated operation is targeting developers at scale, how many have already been compromised? How many production systems are they inside right now?
Perfect Targeting: Developers are ideal victims. Our machines contain the keys to the kingdom: production credentials, crypto wallets, client data.
Professional Camouflage: LinkedIn legitimacy, realistic codebases, standard interview processes.
Technical Sophistication: Multi-layer obfuscation, remote payload delivery, dead-man switches, server-side execution.
One successful infection could compromise production systems at major companies, crypto holdings worth millions, personal data of thousands of users. //
If you're a developer getting LinkedIn job opportunities:
Always sandbox unknown code. Docker containers, VMs, whatever. Never run it on your main machine.
Use AI to scan for suspicious patterns. Takes 30 seconds. Could save your entire digital life.
Verify everything. Real LinkedIn profile doesn't mean real person. Real company doesn't mean real opportunity.
Trust your gut. If someone's rushing you to execute code, that's a red flag.
This scam was so sophisticated it fooled my initial BS detector. But one paranoid moment and a simple AI prompt exposed the whole thing.
