The hackers or hackers of North Korea (Hangul: 조선 민주주의 인민 공화국, Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國, Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk) reportedly stole digital bitcoin money from South Korea to be deposited to Kim Jong-un's regime. The virtual currency became the mainstay of the communist state after a series of UN sanctions destroying Pyongyang's economy.
The hackers' hacking reports linked to Pyongyang's regime come from cyber security firm FireEye. According to the report, Pyongyang hackers have stolen the crypto virtual currency from South Korea since May 2017.
"Now, we may be witnessing the second wave of this campaign; state-sponsored actors are trying to steal bitcoin and other virtual currencies as a means of avoiding sanctions and getting hard currency to fund the regime, "the FireEye report said.
North Korea's first criptocurrency attack was detected in 2016, when observers saw Pyongyang using traditional cyber-spy techniques in an attempt to steal millions of virtual currencies.
In April, four "purses" on the South Korean Yapizon criptocurrency exchange became a target, although FireEye noted that it could not find a direct link to North Korea's involvement in the incident.
Yapizon announced in May that they were hacked and lost 3,816 bitcoins-about USD5.3 million-on April 22. The company does not disclose who is believed to be the perpetrator.
FireEye notes that North Korean hackers are suspected of targeting criptocurrency service providers in South Korea in early June. Fake spearphishing-emails against the South Korean exchanges were also discovered in May and July.
"As the regulatory environment around crypto continues, some exchanges in various jurisdictions may have loose anti-money laundering controls that reduce this process and create attractive tactics for anyone looking for hard currency," the FireEye report said. Fox News, Thursday (9/14/2017).
According to a Wall Street Journal report, North Korean hackers have been linked to malware found at South Korean ATMs. With the attack, Kim Jong-un regime can move the cryptographic from the "wallet" online and withdraw the money to US currency, South Korea or China.
The hackers can also turn the bitcoin into a more ambiguous crypto to make them difficult to trace.
The North Korean government has not confirmed the alleged theft of digital currency by its hackers to fund Kim Jong-un's regime.
North Korea
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