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Mint
4 days ago
- Business
- Mint
Why are North Korean hackers such good crypto-thieves?
FEBRUARY 21st was a typical day, recalls Ben Zhou, the boss of ByBit, a Dubai-based cryptocurrency exchange. Before going to bed, he approved a fund transfer between the firm's accounts, a 'typical manoeuvre" performed while servicing more than 60m users around the world. Half an hour later he got a phone call. 'Ben, there's an issue," his chief financial officer said, voice shaking. 'We might be hacked…all of the Ethereum is gone." Independent investigators and America's Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) soon pointed the finger at a familiar culprit: North Korea. Hackers from the hermit kingdom have established themselves as one of the biggest threats to the crypto-industry—and as a crucial source of revenue for Kim Jong Un's regime, helping it to weather international sanctions, to pamper its elites and to fund its missile and nuclear-weapons programmes. In 2023 North Korean hackers made away with a total of $661m, according to Chainalysis, a crypto-investigations firm; they doubled the sum in 2024, racking up $1.34bn across 47 separate heists, an amount equivalent to more than 60% of the global total of stolen crypto. The ByBit operation indicates a growing degree of skill and ambition: in a single hack, North Korea swiped the equivalent of $1.5bn from the exchange, the largest-ever heist in the history of cryptocurrency. North Korea's plunder is the payoff from a decades-long effort. The country's first computer-science schools date back to at least the 1980s. The Gulf War helped the regime recognise the importance of networked technology for modern warfare. Talented maths students were put into special schools and given reprieves from mandatory annual countryside labour, says Thae Yong Ho, a senior North Korean diplomat who defected in 2016. Originally envisaged as a tool for espionage and sabotage, North Korea's cyber-forces began to focus on cybercrime in the mid-2010s. Mr Kim is said to call cyberwarfare 'an all-purpose sword". Stealing crypto involves two main phases. The first is breaching a target's systems—the digital equivalent of finding an underground passageway to a bank's vaults. Phishing emails can insert malicious code. North Korean operatives pose as recruiters and entice software developers to open infected files during fake job interviews. Another approach involves using fake identities to get hired at remote IT jobs with foreign companies, which can be a first step to accessing accounts. 'They've become really good at finding vulnerabilities through social engineering," says Andrew Fierman of Chainalysis. In the ByBit case, hackers compromised the computer of a developer working for a provider of digital wallet software. Once stolen, the cryptocurrency has to be laundered. Dirty money is spread across multiple digital wallets, combined with clean funds and transferred between different cryptocurrencies, processes known in the industry as 'mixing" and 'chain hopping". 'They're the most sophisticated crypto launderers we've ever come across," says Tom Robinson of Elliptic, a blockchain-analytics firm. Finally, the stolen funds need to be cashed out. A growing array of underground services, many linked to Chinese organised crime, can help with this. Fees and interdictions by law enforcement reduce the overall take, but North Korea can expect to receive 'definitely 80%, maybe 90%" of the funds it steals, says Nick Carlsen, a former FBI analyst now with TRM Labs, a blockchain-intelligence firm. North Korea has several strengths. One is talent. This could appear counterintuitive: the country is desperately poor and ordinary citizens have severely restricted access to the internet or even computers. But 'North Korea can take the best minds and tell them what to do," says Kim Seung-joo of the school of cybersecurity at Korea University in Seoul. 'They don't have to worry about them going to work at Samsung." At the International Collegiate Programming Contest in 2019, a team from a North Korean university came eighth, beating those from Cambridge, Harvard, Oxford and Stanford. Those talents are also exploited. North Korean hackers work around the clock. They are unusually brazen when they strike. Most state actors seek to avoid diplomatic blowback and 'operate like they're in Ocean's 11: white gloves, get in without anyone noticing, steal the crown jewel, get out without being noticed," says Jenny Jun of the Georgia Institute of Technology. North Korea does not 'place a premium on secrecy—they're not afraid to be loud." For the North Korean regime, stolen crypto has become a lifeline, especially as international sanctions and the covid-19 pandemic crimped their already limited trade. Crypto-thievery is a more efficient way to earn hard currency than traditional sources, such as overseas labourers or illegal drugs. The United Nations Panel of Experts (UNPE), a monitoring body, reported in 2023 that cyber-theft accounted for half of North Korea's foreign-currency revenue. North Korea's digital plunder last year was worth more than three times the value of its exports to China, its main trade partner. 'You take what took millions of labourers, and you can replicate that with the work of a few dozen people," says Mr Carlsen. Those funds prop up the regime. Hard currency is used to purchase luxury goods to keep elites in line. It also probably funds weapons. The majority of North Korea's stolen crypto is thought to flow into its missile and nuclear-weapons programmes. Cryptocurrency investigators are getting better at tracking stolen funds along the blockchain. Mainstream cryptocurrency exchanges and stable-coin issuers often co-operate with law enforcement to freeze stolen funds. In 2023 America, Japan and South Korea announced a joint effort aimed at countering North Korean cybercrime. America has sanctioned several 'mixing" service providers that North Korea has used. Yet authorities remain a step behind. After America sanctioned North Korea's favoured mixers, the hackers switched to others offering similar services. Tackling the problem requires multilateral efforts across governments and the private sector, but such collaboration has been fraying. Russia used its UN veto to gut the UNPE last year. President Donald Trump's cuts to American development aid have hit programmes aimed at building cyber-security capacity in vulnerable countries. By contrast, the North Korean regime is throwing ever more resources at cybercrime. South Korea's intelligence services reckon its cybercrime force grew from 6,800 people in 2022 to 8,400 last year. As the crypto-industry expands in countries with weaker regulatory oversight, North Korea has an increasingly 'rich target environment", says Abhishek Sharma of the Observer Research Foundation, an Indian think-tank. Last year, Mr Sharma notes, North Korea attacked exchanges based in India and Indonesia. North Korea is already known to be making use of artificial intelligence in its operations. AI tools can help make phishing emails more convincing and easier to produce at scale across many languages. They can also make it easier to infiltrate companies as remote tech workers. Bad days like Mr Zhou's may become increasingly typical.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Image of Trump as pope, call to reopen Alcatraz and movie tariff mark 10th Mar-a-Lago visit
An image of himself as pope, a proposal to reopen Alcatraz prison and a call for tariffs on movies produced on foreign film sets marked President Donald Trump's 10th visit to Palm Beach this term. The AI-generated visual of the president in papal attire was posted May 3 while global Catholics are still mourning the April 21 death of Pope Francis. Cardinals from around the world are scheduled to open a conclave to choose the next pontiff on May 7. Trump's post on Truth Social with the image did not have accompanying text, but it drew a rebuke from New York bishops. "There is nothing clever or funny about this image, Mr. President," the Catholic Bishops of New York State wrote on X. "We just buried our beloved Pope Francis and the cardinals are about to enter a solemn conclave to elect a new successor of St. Peter. Do not mock us." In another post as the president was departing for Washington on May 4, he demanded a rebuilding and reopening of the former federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay. "When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm," he wrote. "That's the way it's supposed to be." Alcatraz served as a high-security prison from the Great Depression until the early 1960s, when it was closed by order of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, the father of current Trump Cabinet member and health czar Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. It housed some of the country's most notorious criminals, including Al Capone. Today, most of the site is decayed except for the main cell block building and other structures that are a national historic site open to tourists. The president said he was "directing" the Bureau of Prisons, along with the departments of Justice and Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigations, "to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America's most ruthless and violent Offenders." He said the United States would not be "held hostage to criminals, thugs, and Judges that are afraid to do their job and allow us to remove criminals, who came into our Country illegally." Trump's Alcatraz order followed a posting earlier in the weekend expressing frustration that federal judges have blocked some of his efforts to "Deport Criminals, including Murderers, out of our Country and back to" their home countries. "If this is so, our Country, as we know it, is finished! Americans will have to get used to a very different, crime filled, LIFE. This is not what our Founders had in mind!!!" he wrote. The court orders Trump railed against have come as arguments have been presented before federal judges that the administration has removed people from the United States who did not have criminal records. Those cases include a Cuban woman from Tampa who is married to a naturalized U.S. citizen and is the mother of a 1-year-old daughter and was reportedly deported to the communist island last month. The focus on deporting foreign nationals extends well beyond just those with criminal records. Last month, Florida International University revealed it has joined the federal-state partnership and its security officers will participate in efforts to detain people on campus they suspect are simply in the country without permission. The police department at Florida Atlantic University has applied to become part of the partnership as well. The Trump administration has allowed the Temporary Protected Status for tens of thousands of Venezuelans to expire, making them eligible for deportation. A federal judge has, for the moment, blocked the decision by Homeland Security, which also has indicated TPS for other holders, including Haitians, will come to an end this year. The administration has acknowledged its intention is to also deport people with no criminal background. Madison Sheahan, the deputy director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, said May 1 the priority is to remove individuals who pose a safety or security threat to the general population. But she made clear the definition of criminality is much broader saying "everybody that is in this country illegally is a criminal." Trump's Alcatraz directive also comes as immigration advocates and the families of those being held at a southern Miami-Dade County detention center have decried what they allege are deadly overcrowding conditions. And as the shipment of people to a prison in El Salvador continues to draw scrutiny and criticism. On May 3, while the president was in town, a 25% tariff on imported auto parts began. But it was a duty on movies filmed abroad that was also on the president's agenda this weekend. Trump said he was "authorizing" the Department of Commerce and the U.S. trade representative to "immediately begin the process of instituting a 100% Tariff" on movies "produced in Foreign Lands," saying they pose a national security threat. "The Movie Industry in America is DYING a very fast death," he wrote. Other Countries are offering all sorts of incentives to draw our filmmakers and studios away from the United States. Hollywood, and many other areas within the U.S.A., are being devastated. This is a concerted effort by other Nations and, therefore, a National Security threat." Trump arrived late on May 1 and attended a Republican National Committee spring gala held at Mar-a-Lago on May 2. Trump has traveled to the Winter White House 10 times this term, spending part or all of 35 days. Antonio Fins is a politics and business editor at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach him at afins@ Help support our journalism. Subscribe today. This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Trump in Palm Beach: Image as pope, Alcatraz and movie tariff mark visit
Fox News
04-05-2025
- Fox News
Crew of armed gunmen rob armored truck outside of Chicago-area bank in broad daylight
Federal agents are searching for a crew of men who are accused of robbing an armored truck at gunpoint outside a Chicago-area bank in broad daylight. The robbery happened just before 4:30 p.m. Friday in Blue Island, Illinois, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in Chicago. Three men, in their late teens to early 20s, were seen in photos carrying handguns and pointing them at the vehicle. They later fled in a car and were still on the run as of Sunday afternoon, according to the FBI. Authorities said the men were wearing dark clothing, gloves and black face coverings. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to report tips at 312-421-6700 and
Fox News
01-05-2025
- Fox News
Sullivan's Island hit-and-run: Manhunt underway in South Carolina town after armed driver ran down two kids
A manhunt involving drones, helicopters and door-to-door checks is underway in Sullivan's Island, South Carolina, after police say a man mowed down a parent and two children outside a Presbyterian church and took off. Justin Collin Adams is still at large and possibly armed with a knife, according to the Sullivan's Island Police Department. He is wanted for the hit-and-run. Adams was reportedly traveling on foot, wearing a red shirt and dark shorts. Sullivan's Island Police Department Chief Glenn Meadows said a car pulled into Sunrise Presbyterian Church just before 1 p.m. and hit a parent and two children. The adult and one child were taken to the hospital in stable condition, Meadows said. The other child was treated at the scene and released to another parent. Authorities would not confirm if the crash was intentional. However, they confirmed the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS), South Carolina Law Enforcement Division (SLED), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), U.S. Marshals Service and others are "offering support." Officials said to stay inside as grid searches are being performed.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Yahoo
Onslow County Sheriff's Office investigates dozens of child abuse cases
ONSLOW COUNTY, N.C. (WNCT) — The Onslow County Sheriff's Office investigated dozens of cyber tips concerning child abuse last week. The Federal Bureau of Investigations, US Department of Homeland Security, North Carolina State Bureau of Investigations and the Jacksonville Police Department all assisted with these investigations, of which there were 49. Deputies visited 37 homes, ruling out some tips, but they are still investigating cases. Tips involved things like sex crimes against children, child abuse, sexual exploitation of minors and the solicitation of sexual acts from children online. 'Protecting our most vulnerable citizens-our children-is a responsibility we all share. Our office is committed to standing with these families, schools and community partners to ensure every child grows up safe, supported and heard.' said Sheriff Chris Thomas, with Onslow County. These investigations are happening at the same time as National Child Abuse Prevention Month, which occurs all through the month of April. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
