Latest news with #NorthKorean
Korea Herald
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Vice ministers of N. Korea, Russia discuss closer cooperation: KCNA
Deputy chiefs of North Korea's public security ministry and Russia's interior ministry have discussed pursuing closer cooperation during their talks in Pyongyang, the North's state media reported Thursday. The talks were held the previous day in the North Korean capital between Vice Public Security Minister Ri Song-chol and Vice Interior Minister Vitaly Shulika, attended by officials from the two ministries, the Korean Central News Agency said. "During the talks, issues to expand and develop exchanges and cooperation between the two countries' safety agencies were discussed ... in an atmosphere of camaraderie and friendship," the KCNA said. A delegation from Russia's interior ministry, led by Shulika, arrived in Pyongyang on Monday, according to the KCNA's earlier report. Also on Wednesday, Shulika and his delegation met with North Korea's Minister of Public Security Pang Tu-sop, accompanied by Russian Ambassador to North Korea Alexandr Matsegora, the KCNA said. The KCNA said the delegation also toured various sites in the capital, including the Juche Tower and the subway system. (Yonhap)
New York Post
4 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Post
For the truth about ‘socialist utopia' dreams, ask a North Korean
Bizarrely, 62% of young Americans hold a 'favorable view' of socialism. How can they be so ignorant? Socialism has been tried by lots of countries. It's failed. It always fails. China prospered somewhat only after it legalized some private enterprise. Perhaps today's kids are ignorant because they're too young to remember the fall of the Soviet Union. They should look at North Korea — the ultimate 'socialist utopia.' I recently interviewed Charles Ryu, who escaped North Korea and made it to China. 'It felt like getting into a time machine and fast forwarding 50 years . . . 24-hour running electricity . . . All the food that I can eat . . . It was life-changing.' 'We Americans think of China as a surveillance state,' I point out, 'They'll punish you if you say the wrong thing. But for you, it was freedom?' '[The] Chinese government does watch your every move . . . But in North Korea, it's 100 times worse.' He says North Koreans are so isolated that they believe even absurd propaganda. Ryu was taught that '[Dictator] Kim Jong Il . . . got mad when he learned what Japan had done to North Korea. He grabbed a calligraphy pen . . . and painted over Japan. As soon as he did, Japan started getting hurricanes and storms . . . [We believed he was] some sort of God.' Ryu's time in China was short-lived. Someone told the Chinese officials that he was North Korean. China sent him back. North Korea then punished him for escaping. 'I was beaten . . . fed only 150 kernels of corn. One morning I was marching . . . I saw dry vomit on the road and was so hungry that I got on my hands and knees and began picking the rice out of the dry vomit.' 'I didn't stop . . . until the beating from the guards was too unbearable.' Nine months later, he was freed from prison labor because 'I lost so much weight that I was a worthless worker.' Eventually Ryu escaped again, sneaking past guards into the Yalu River. 'I carried a bucket pretending that I was getting water. As soon as nobody was looking, I quietly waded in.' 'In the middle of the river, I slipped on a rock and I let out a gasp. A flood of light was on my back.' 'The guard was screaming at me to turn back. He said that he would shoot me if I didn't turn back, but at that point, I knew I was dead either way . . . and I kept [pushing] ahead.' This time when he made it to China, Ryu avoided capture. He found a broker who secured him passage to Thailand, where UN officials granted him political asylum. Then they sent him to safety in America. Today, Ryu uses his experiences to try to educate Americans about North Korea and the dangers of socialism. On his YouTube channel he holds a sign that reads, 'Ask a North Korean.' To Americans who praise socialism, Ryu says: 'Just go to North Korea for 10 days and you'll know how bad it is . . . You don't really know you have it good.' Ryu is only able to talk freely about his experiences in North Korea because he has no immediate family left there. Most North Koreans who escape the country cannot. 'If you talk bad about . . . the regime, that's the highest crime you can commit . . . Your entire three generations of your family will be sent to political prison camp where you will never get out.' Ryu is thrilled to be in America. Here he was able to go to school, find a job that he enjoys and marry. 'I feel like my life is complete now because all the choices that I can have . . . I [can] travel anywhere I want . . . eat whatever I want . . . do whatever I want in America — a capitalist country. In North Korea, that's not possible.' I'm glad I live in America. I can freely criticize our government. At least, so far. John Stossel is the author of 'Give Me a Break: How I Exposed Hucksters, Cheats, and Scam Artists and Became the Scourge of the Liberal Media.'
Boston Globe
7 hours ago
- Business
- Boston Globe
Why ‘wrench attacks' on wealthy crypto holders are on the rise
'Criminal groups already comfortable with using violence to achieve their goals were always likely to migrate to crypto,' Ariss said. Advertisement Some of the crypto's key characteristics help explain why wealthy individuals who hold a lot of digital assets can be ripe targets for such attacks. Get Starting Point A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday. Enter Email Sign Up The draw Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer traders full control of their funds without the need for a bank or permission from a government to buy, sell or hold it. The trade-off is that if funds are lost or stolen, there can be no way to get them back. Self-reliance is a key ethos of crypto. Securing and controlling one's private keys, which are like passwords used to access one's crypto holdings, is viewed as sacrosanct among many in the crypto community. A popular motto is 'not your keys, not your coins.' Transactions on the blockchain, the technology that powers cryptocurrencies, are permanent. And unlike cash, jewelry, gold or other items of value, thieves don't need to carry around stolen crypto. With a few clicks, huge amounts of wealth can be transferred from one address to another. Advertisement In the case in New York, where two people have been charged, a lot of details have yet to come out, including the value of the bitcoin the victim possessed. Crypto thefts Stealing cryptocurrency is almost as old as cryptocurrency itself, but it's usually done by hacking. North Korean state hackers alone are believed to have stolen billions of dollars' worth of crypto in recent years. In response to the threat of hacking, holders of a large amount of crypto often try and keep their private keys off the internet and stored in what are called 'cold wallets.' Used properly, such wallets can defeat even the most sophisticated and determined hackers. But they can't defeat thieves who force a victim to give up their password to access their wallets and move money. The case in New York is the latest in a string of high-profile wrench attacks. Several have taken place in France, where thieves cut off a crypto executive's finger. Mitigation Experts suggest several ways to mitigate the threats of wrench attacks, including using wallets that require multiple approvals before any transactions. Perhaps the most common way crypto-wealthy individuals try to prevent wrench attacks is by trying to stay anonymous. Using nicknames and cartoon avatars in social media accounts is common in the crypto community, even among top executives at popular companies.
Global News
10 hours ago
- Global News
‘Wrench attacks' against crypto holders are on the rise. What to know
The headline-grabbing tale of an Italian man who said he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse by captors seeking his bitcoin highlights a dark corner of the cryptocurrency world: the threat of violence by thieves seeking digital assets. The alleged attempted robbery is known as a 'wrench attack.' It's a name popularized by an online comic that mocked how easily high-tech security can be undone by hitting someone with a wrench until they give up passwords. Wrench attacks are on the rise thanks in part to cryptocurrency's move into mainstream finance, Phil Ariss of the crypto tracing firm TRM Labs said in a recent blog post. 'Criminal groups already comfortable with using violence to achieve their goals were always likely to migrate to crypto,' Ariss said. Some of crypto's key characteristics help explain why wealthy individuals who hold a lot of digital assets can be ripe targets for such attacks. Story continues below advertisement The draw Cryptocurrencies like bitcoin offer traders full control of their funds without the need for a bank or permission from a government to buy, sell or hold it. The trade-off is that if funds are lost or stolen, there can be no way to get them back. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy Self-reliance is a key ethos of crypto. Securing and controlling one's private keys, which are like passwords used to access one's crypto holdings, is viewed as sacrosanct among many in the crypto community. A popular motto is 'not your keys, not your coins.' 3:00 Consumer Matters: Tips to avoid crypto currency investment fraud Transactions on the blockchain, the technology that powers cryptocurrencies, are permanent. And unlike cash, jewelry, gold or other items of value, thieves don't need to carry around stolen crypto. With a few clicks, huge amounts of wealth can be transferred from one address to another. Story continues below advertisement In the case in New York, where two people have been charged, a lot of details have yet to come out, including the value of the bitcoin the victim possessed. Crypto thefts Stealing cryptocurrency is almost as old as cryptocurrency itself, but it's usually done by hacking. North Korean state hackers alone are believed to have stolen billions of dollars' worth of crypto in recent years. In response to the threat of hacking, holders of a large amount of crypto often try and keep their private keys off the internet and stored in what are called 'cold wallets.' Used properly, such wallets can defeat even the most sophisticated and determined hackers. But they can't defeat thieves who force a victim to give up their password to access their wallets and move money. Story continues below advertisement The case in New York is the latest in a string of high-profile wrench attacks. Several have taken place in France, where thieves cut off a crypto executive's finger. Mitigation Experts suggest several ways to mitigate the threats of wrench attacks, including using wallets that require multiple approvals before any transactions. Perhaps the most common way crypto-wealthy individuals try to prevent wrench attacks is by trying to stay anonymous. Using nicknames and cartoon avatars in social media accounts is common in the crypto community, even among top executives at popular companies.
Time of India
12 hours ago
- Time of India
Cryptocurrency thefts are rising: How to safeguard Bitcoin, Crypto assets?
Cryptocurrency thefts have hogged the headline as some of the crypto's key characteristics reveal reasons why wealthy individuals who hold a lot of digital assets can be ripe targets for such attacks. Experts have advised ways to tackle the threats and safeguard the assets, as per a report. The headline-grabbing tale of an Italian man who said he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse by captors seeking his bitcoin highlights a dark corner of the cryptocurrency world: the threat of violence by thieves seeking digital assets. The alleged attempted robbery is known as a "wrench attack". It's a name popularized by an online comic that mocked how easily high-tech security can be undone by hitting someone with a wrench until they give up passwords, AP reported. Wrench attacks are on the rise thanks in part to cryptocurrency's move into mainstream finance, Phil Ariss of the crypto tracing firm TRM Labs said in a recent blog post. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Linda Kozlowski, 67, Shows Off Her Perfect Figure In A New Photo Today's NYC Undo Cryptocurrency Thefts Stealing cryptocurrency is almost as old as cryptocurrency itself, but it's usually done by hacking. North Korean state hackers alone are believed to have stolen billions of dollars' worth of crypto in recent years. Live Events In response to the threat of hacking, holders of a large amount of crypto often try and keep their private keys off the internet and stored in what are called 'cold wallets.' Used properly, such wallets can defeat even the most sophisticated and determined hackers. But they can't defeat thieves who force a victim to give up their password to access their wallets and move money. The case in New York is the latest in a string of high-profile wrench attacks. Several have taken place in France, where thieves cut off a crypto executive's finger. Ways to Tackle Cryptocurrency Thefts Experts suggest several ways to mitigate the threats of wrench attacks, including using wallets that require multiple approvals before any transactions. Perhaps the most common way crypto-wealthy individuals try to prevent wrench attacks is by trying to stay anonymous. Using nicknames and cartoon avatars in social media accounts is common in the crypto community, even among top executives at popular companies. FAQs Q1. What is world's most popular cryptocurrency? A1. World's most popular cryptocurrency is Bitcoin. Q2. What is 'wrench attack'? A2. The headline-grabbing tale of an Italian man who said he was kidnapped and tortured for weeks inside an upscale Manhattan townhouse by captors seeking his bitcoin highlights a dark corner of the cryptocurrency world: the threat of violence by thieves seeking digital assets. The alleged attempted robbery is known as a "wrench attack".
