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North Korean pirates have made it a habit to steal cryptocurrency to individual investors as part of a new Pyongyang strategy aimed at mitigating the impact of international sanctions.
The targeting of virtual currency holders such as bitcoin marks a break from previous methods, which targeted stock markets and financial institutions. According to analysts, this change shows that Pyongyang is seeking a new source of revenue while it is bowing under sanctions targeting its illicit nuclear weapons program.
"Previously, hackers were directly attacking the exchanges," said Simon Choi, senior researcher at Hauri, a Seoul-based antivirus software company. "They targeted the staff on the exchanges, but now they are directly attacking cryptocurrency users."
"With the United States, the UN and other countries imposing sanctions on the North Korean economy, North Korea is in a difficult economic situation and cryptography is now considered a good opportunity."
Kwon Seok-chul, CEO of South Korean cybersecurity firm Cuvepia, said his company has detected more than 30 cases since April in which North Korean hackers have targeted people holding cryptocurrency.
How has North Korea, barely connected, become a superpower of piracy?
"It's just portfolio users who invest in cryptocurrency," Kwon said, adding that some cases had probably gone unnoticed and the actual number could well exceed 100.
"In fact, when crypto-currencies are hacked, there is nowhere to complain, so hackers are cracking more and more crypto-currencies."
Hackers usually send victims an email containing a text file that, once opened, infects the computer with malicious code that gives them control of the machine.
Choi said that the change of attack targeting individuals could be a response to trade and financial institutions strengthening security against cyberattacks.
North Korean hackers accused of launching wave of cyberattacks on banks
"They have had some successes and continue to progress, but during this time the exchanges have become accustomed to the attacks and have somewhat increased their security," he said. "The direct attacks on the exchanges have become harder, so the hackers are more likely to attack the individual users whose security is low."
Although antivirus software entrepreneur John McAfee claimed to have created an "unassailable" wallet for bitcoin, this and other crypto-currencies have become a lucrative commodity for cyber thieves around the world. A survey conducted by Reuters last year revealed that more than $ 6 billion of bitcoins had been stolen in trade since 2011.
Choi said most of the recent victims of North Korean hackers were relatively wealthy South Koreans, such as corporate CEOs.
"They believe that if they target more wealthy business leaders and business leaders than ordinary people, they can take advantage of billions of won in virtual currencies," he said. declared.
It is generally thought that North Korea has set up one of the most formidable hacking armies in the world under its spy agency, the General Recognition Bureau.
Last month, the Russian cyber security company Group IB released a report accusing North Korean hackers of stealing 571 million US dollars from five cryptocurrency exchanges, including the South Korean companies YouBit and Japan. Coincheck, since 2017. The IB Group has traced the attacks perpetrated against the Lazurus group, the popular code name for an elite hacking unit widely believed to have made the 2014 piracy of Sony Pictures.
Sony Pictures Entertainment turns to North Korea for cyberattack
Luke McNamara, an analyst at the California-based FireEye Cybersecurity Company, said the hackers behind the attacks could have collected information that would allow them to target individual cryptocurrency users.
"It has been possible, through previous intrusions, to collect information about e-mail addresses, the names of users of the people using these exchanges," he said.
McNamara said that North Korea had shown an ability to know its targets, one of the most effective weapons of the arsenal of pirates.
"When they understand and know the goals, when they are able to craft specific lures to the organizations or entities that they are looking for – for me, it means that they are effective in what they do. . "
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