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A free scan shows the junk files, broken settings and background clutter dragging Windows down - then fixes them in one click.Free scan · Windows 10 & 11On July 18, 2023, GitHub warned that a low-volume social-engineering campaign targeted personal accounts of employees at technology firms. The company assessed with high confidence that the activity was associated with Jade Sleet, tracked by the U.S. as TraderTraitor. Attackers used fake or hijacked online personas to persuade developers to run code containing malicious npm packages. GitHub said neither GitHub nor npm systems were compromised in that campaign. GitHub’s alert does not establish whether that exact operation remains active today.
How the GitHub campaign worked
GitHub said targets often worked in blockchain, cryptocurrency, or online gambling, with some in cybersecurity. The attackers approached people through GitHub and other social platforms, including LinkedIn, Slack, and Telegram. Some personas were fabricated; others used legitimate accounts that had been taken over. A conversation could begin on one service and shift to another.
Once trust was established, the attacker invited the target to collaborate on a public or private GitHub repository and urged them to clone and execute the project. GitHub described lures themed around media players and cryptocurrency-trading tools. Malicious npm packages included in the project acted as first-stage malware, downloading and executing a second-stage payload. In some cases, attackers sent malicious software directly through messaging or file sharing instead of using a repository invitation. GitHub said packages were sometimes published only when a fraudulent invitation was sent, limiting how long they were exposed to scrutiny.
The tactic relied on a trusted-looking request to run software, not a compromise of GitHub or npm itself. GitHub attributed the activity with high confidence to Jade Sleet; CISA tracks the actor as TraderTraitor. The alert did not report a victim total.
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How to assess an unexpected recruiter or collaborator request
Verify the person outside the conversation
Treat an unsolicited approach that quickly turns into a request to clone, install, or run code as suspicious, especially if the contact moves between platforms. Verify the person and organization through a separate trusted channel rather than relying on the profile or contact details used to make the approach.
Inspect the repository and its dependencies
Before running unfamiliar code, review its dependencies and installation scripts. GitHub specifically advised extra scrutiny for very recently published packages and for scripts or dependencies that make network connections during installation. A polished project page or a familiar collaboration platform does not establish that its code is safe.
Use malware alerts as one signal
Dependabot alerts can identify a dependency when it is flagged in GitHub’s Advisory Database, but they are not a guarantee that a package is safe. GitHub says new malware may take time to appear in the database, not every issue is caught, and only GitHub-reviewed advisories trigger these alerts. Continue to review unfamiliar code and packages yourself.
What to do if you accepted an invitation or ran suspicious code
If you accepted a repository invitation
Review your GitHub security log for action:repo.add_member events associated with the accounts named in GitHub’s original alert. An invitation alone does not show that you executed malicious code, but the log can help establish whether an account was added to a repository.
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If you executed project content
Contact your employer’s cybersecurity team promptly. GitHub said it may be prudent to reset or wipe potentially affected devices, change account passwords, and rotate sensitive credentials and tokens stored on those devices. Your security team can assess the device and determine the right containment and recovery steps.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How this warning fits into broader developer security risks
The campaign is one example of why software-supply-chain defenses must include both identity checks and code review. In a separate warning, the FBI recommends least privilege, monitoring unusual access and data movement, and identity checks throughout remote hiring. The FBI has also warned that North Korean IT workers have copied company code repositories; that is relevant business context, not evidence that repository copying was part of this specific 2023 invitation campaign. FBI guidance
A separate 2025 Nx incident illustrates a different dependency risk. The Nx project’s advisory says malicious versions of nx and supporting packages scanned file systems, collected credentials, and posted them as GitHub repositories. Its guidance included checking account logs and local indicators, stopping affected versions, and rotating credentials and tokens. It is not evidence of the same actors or methods as the 2023 campaign. Nx’s incident advisory
GitHub’s 2026 supply-chain update describes package cooldowns for Dependabot version updates and self-service credential-revocation capabilities intended to limit spread and speed incident response. Those later measures do not show that the 2023 campaign used the same techniques. GitHub’s 2026 update
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