A report published by the U.S. Army reveals that rogue nation North Korea has an “army” of more than 6,000 hackers at its disposal, carrying out cyber warfare, including digital currency hacks. The team of hackers based in countries including Belarus, China, India, Malaysia, Russia, is reportedly controlled by Bureau 121, the division with responsibility for cyber warfare in North Korea. The report reveals that many hackers are located outside North Korea as the country lacks the domestic infrastructure to support hacking operations at scale.
North Korea continues to sponsor cyberattacks around the world.
The U.S. Army report reveals that North Korea is continuing to sponsor significant volumes of digital currency crime and other cyber attacks from around the world, and confirms suspicions of organized cyber warfare emanating from the rogue state. One division believed to be responsible for digital currency hacks is called the Bluenoroff Group. With 1,700 members, the hacking group works “by concentrating on long-term assessment and exploiting enemy network vulnerabilities.”
Lazarus Group has repeatedly made headlines, known for its WannaCry malware launched in 2016. The stated aim of the group is to “create social chaos by weaponizing enemy network vulnerabilities and delivering a payload if directed to do so by the regime.”
Crypto crimes continue to increase amid the ongoing pandemic.
North Korea has also been accused of using cryptocurrencies to fund the ballistic missile projects and nuclear weapons. Hackers are reportedly relying on privacy-centric coins to cover their trace from law enforcement agencies. Cryptocurrency scams have surged amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Several countries reported a rise in crypto scams that included a spike in ransomware attacks, Ponzi schemes, and other different types of scams involving crypto.
There are several types of crypto scams that have become very prevalent, including fake giveaways, sextortion, fake exchanges, fake ICO’s, bitcoin recovery, video scams, pyramid schemes, and the list on.
