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NKorea Hackers Stole Virtual Assets 02/08 06:11
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- North Korean hackers working for the government stole
record-breaking virtual assets last year estimated to be worth between $630
million and more than $1 billion, U.N. experts said in a new report.
The panel of experts said in the wide-ranging report seen Tuesday by The
Associated Press that the hackers used increasingly sophisticated techniques to
gain access to digital networks involved in cyberfinance, and to steal
information that could be useful in North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile
programs from governments, individuals and companies.
With growing tensions on the Korean Peninsula, the report said North Korea
continued to violate U.N. sanctions, producing weapons-grade nuclear material,
and improving its ballistic missile program, which "continued to accelerate
dramatically."
In 2022, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea -- the North's official
name -- launched at least 73 ballistic missiles and missiles combining
ballistic and guidance technologies including eight intercontinental ballistic
missiles, the panel said. And 42 launches, including the test of a reportedly
new type of ICBM and a new solid-fueled ICBM engine, were conducted in the last
four months of the year.
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un ordered an "exponential increase of the
country's nuclear arsenal" in January, and the panel said "a new law discussed
an increased focus on tactical nuclear capability, a new first-use doctrine,
and the `irreversible nature' of the DPRK's nuclear status."
"The ability to carry out an unexpected nuclear strike on any regional or
international target, described in DPRK's new law on nuclear doctrine and
progressively in public statements since 2021, is consistent with the observed
production, testing, and deployment of its tactical and strategic delivery
systems," the experts said in the report to the U.N. Security Council.
The panel said that South Korean authorities quoted in media reports
"estimated that state sponsored DPRK cyber threat actors had stolen virtual
assets worth around $1.2 billion globally since 2017, including about $630
million in 2022 alone."
The experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea said an unnamed
cybersecurity firm "assessed that in 2022, DPRK cybercrime yielded cyber
currencies worth over $1 billion at the time of the threat, which is more than
double the total proceeds in 2021."
The variation in the U.S. dollar value of cryptocurrency in recent months is
likely to have affected these estimates, the panel said, "but both show that
2022 was a record-breaking year for DPRK virtual asset theft."
The panel said three groups that are part of the Reconnaissance General
Bureau, North Korea's primary foreign intelligence organization, "continued
illicitly to target victims to generate revenue and solicit information of
value to the DPRK including its weapons programs" -- Kimsuky, Lazarus Group and
Andariel.
Between February and July 2022, the panel said, the Lazarus Group
"reportedly targeted energy providers in multiple member states using a
vulnerability" to install malware and gain long-term access. It said this
"aligns with historical Lazarus intrusions targeting critical infrastructure
and energy companies ... to siphon off proprietary intellectual property."
Lazarus Group's primary focus is on specific types of industry, aerospace
and defense and conventional finance and cryptocurrencies, with the objective
of accessing the internal knowledge bases of the compromised companies, the
experts said. They quoted the cybersecurity section of an internet technology
company as saying Lazarus has been targeting engineers and technical support
employees "using malicious versions of open source applications."
In December 2022, the panel said, South Korea's national police agency
announced that Kimsuky had targeted 892 foreign policy related experts "in an
effort to steal personal data and email lists."
The police reported that the hackers didn't manage to steal sensitive
information, but they "laundered IP addresses of the victims and employed 326
detour servers and 26 member states to make tracing difficult," the experts
said. The police noted it was the first time they detected Kimsuky using
ransomware, saying 19 servers and 13 businesses were affected, of which two
paid 2.5 million South Korean won ($1,980) in Bitcoin to the hackers.
On military-related issues, the experts said they investigated the "apparent
export" of military communications equipment from a North Korean company under
U.N. sanctions to Ethiopia's defense ministry in June 2022.
The panel said it has not yet received a reply from Ethiopia's government
about a photo published by the Ethiopian media in November allegedly showing a
piece of equipment from the Global Communications Co., known as Glocom, being
used by a top military official. Eritrea also hasn't responded to questions
about its alleged procurement of Glocom equipment, the experts said.
North Korea may also have illegally traded arms and related material with a
number of countries, including sending artillery shells, infantry rockets and
missiles to Russia -- claims Pyongyang and Moscow have consistently denied, the
panel said. And the experts said they are investigating the reported sale of
weapons from a North Korean company on the U.N. sanctions list to the Myanmar
military through a Myanmar company.
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