North Korean pirates have stolen more than a billion dollars and destroyed computers around the world, according to reports


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While President Donald Trump claims that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and himself have "fallen in love" with "beautiful letters," rogue regime hackers are working diligently to steal millions of dollars from financial institutions and return to Kim's chests.

New Fire Eye Cybersecurity Company Study Shows APT38, a piracy group linked to the North Korean government, is targeting financial institutions around the world to steal more than $ 1.1 billion since 2014. The group also conducted widespread spying and reconnaissance activities. against the international financial institutions. These operations often leave the computer systems of the victims completely destroyed.

"The group has compromised more than 16 organizations in at least 11 different countries, sometimes simultaneously, since at least 2014. Since the first activity observed, the operations of the group have become increasingly complex and destructive," says the report released Wednesday. .

"APT38 performs sophisticated banking operations, which are typically characterized by long planning, extended periods of access to compromised victim environments, prior to any attempted theft of money, fluidity in Mixed operating systems, the use of custom tools and a constant effort to foil the investigations will completely destroy the compromised machines thereafter, "the report continues.

The group is generally intended for financial institutions and interbank financial systems to obtain large sums. Banks have been targeted in the United States, Vietnam, Turkey, Mexico, India, Ecuador, Chile and Bangladesh, among other countries. The group also targeted financial executives and media organizations focused on the economy. At the height of the 2016 bitcoin bubble, hackers targeted media that covered stories related to cryptocurrency.

851752218-594x594 This photo taken on September 21, 2017 and published on September 22 by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in North Korea, shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un making a statement. North Korean hackers have stolen more than $ 1.1 billion from financial institutions around the world. STR / AFP / Getty Images

At the same time, a separate report from the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, also released on Wednesday, said North Korean pirates posed a significant risk to national security although they are significantly less skilled than Chinese or Russian pirates. .

"Fifteen or even ten years ago, when analyzing the repercussions of US sanctions on North Korea or South Korean military exercises, the regime's capacity was never taken into account. from Kim to targeting the US economy, "said Samantha Ravich, Senior and Senior Advisor. Investigator of the cyber-activated economic warfare project of FDD, said in a statement. "Today, North Korea has one of the most competent and aggressive cyber operations. In the face of intense US economic sanctions, Pyongyang could consider using its cyber capabilities to attack the US economy. "

The researchers found that the regime was mainly interested in earning and stealing money for the North Korean regime, as well as collecting data from foreign governments. According to the recent book by journalist Bob Woodward FearThe Obama administration planned to launch offensive cyber attacks on North Korea in retaliation for the dishonest regime's crackdown on Sony Pictures in 2014, but the administration finally rejected the plan for not provoking China.

"To effectively launch broader cyberattacks, the National Security Agency should go through servers that North Korea had in China. The Chinese would detect such an attack and could conclude that it was intended for them, potentially triggering a cyber-war cataclysmic, "reads the book.

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