Tagged: north korea

May 8, 2022 @ 10:26 am By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has targeted a crypto mixer platform for the very first time. According to a statement by Treasury, Blender.io (Blender) has been sanctioned by the US government. Blender is utilized by North Korea  for… Read More

February 17, 2021 @ 3:58 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice has announced an indictment of three North Korean hackers said to be involved with the Korean military regarding   to cyberattacks and financial including theft of money and cryptocurrency.  The indictment is an expansion of a 2018 case outlining similar nefarious… Read More

February 10, 2021 @ 11:13 pm By Omar Faridi  |  

A new United Nations inquiry into the reported theft of $281 million in crypto-assets from  KuCoin, a major digital currency exchange, in September 2020 “strongly suggests” links to North Korea. Industry participants claim that Seychelles-headquartered KuCoin could be the victim of one of the largest… Read More

October 3, 2020 @ 9:47 am By Omar Faridi  |  

Companies or businesses that have been targeted with malicious ransomware attacks might potentially face fines as high as $20 million if they agree to the demands from extortionists, particularly the ones who have been listed on financial crime sanctions lists, the US Department of Treasury… Read More

March 2, 2020 @ 11:56 pm By JD Alois  |  

The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has charged two Chinese nationals with laundering more than $100 million in cryptocurrency as part of an exchange hack orchestrated by North Korean perpetrators, according to a release. The laundering allegedly took place between December 2017 and April 2019…. Read More

January 2, 2020 @ 8:55 am By Cali Haan  |  

Virgil Griffith, an Ethereum programmer accused of advising North Korea on how to using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions, has been released on $1 million bail in New York. The case is being covered in-person by the Inner City Press: “Upshot: for Virgil Griffith, SDNY Judge Broderick… Read More

December 30, 2019 @ 2:43 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An Ethereum developer accused of providing “highly technical information” to North Korean officials on how to use cryptocurrencies to avoid U.S. sanctions has been denied bail in New York, Inner City Press reports. Virgil Griffith, 36, is accused of knowingly violating US sanctions against the… Read More

November 29, 2019 @ 11:08 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An Ethereum programmer who allegedly traveled to North Korea to deliver a presentation and technical advice on using cryptocurrencies to evade sanctions was arrested on Thursday at the Los Angeles airport. Ethereum is the second-largest cryptocurrency network after Bitcoin. Like Bitcoin, Ethereum is maintained and… Read More

November 7, 2019 @ 2:13 am By Cali Haan  |  

The UN Security Council’s Sanctions Committee on North Korea has identified a Hong Kong business using a “blockchain platform” to launder money on behalf of the Pyongyang regime, Chosunilbo reports. The business, Marine China, reportedly, “set up a shipping and logistics firm run on a blockchain… Read More

April 8, 2019 @ 11:02 pm By Cali Haan  |  

North Korea has added to its standard program of hacking banks in the developing world by launching computer-borne attacks against cryptocurrency exchanges, Wired reports. To further complicate matters, at least part of the billions of dollars so far garnered in these hacks is being used… Read More

March 26, 2019 @ 2:07 pm By Cali Haan  |  

A group dedicated to the liberation of North Korea, Cheollima Civil Defence, is raising funds through the sale of 200 000 symbolic “visas” that promise holders they will be among the among the first to visit “Free Joseon upon liberation.” The group’s “Post-Liberation Blockchain G-VISAs”… Read More

March 8, 2019 @ 7:49 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Expert panelists have informed the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee that the tiny country has been hacking global cryptocurrency trading platforms to obtain capital, Nikkei Asian Review reports. This is the first time the panel has addressed the UN Security Council regarding cyberattacks… Read More

February 22, 2019 @ 7:50 am By Cali Haan  |  

In January, a private heart clinic located in a Melbourne’s Cabrini hospital had 15 000 patients’ medical records locked in a ransomware attack that emanated from Russia or North Korea, 9News reports. A cryptocurrency ransom to unlock the data was subsequently demanded. The records were… Read More

January 14, 2019 @ 1:26 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Researchers at Crowdstrike, FireEye, Kryptos Logic, and McAfee are all reporting that ransomware known as Ryuk is, in fact, being proliferated by professional hack groups in Russia, and not by North Koreans, ZDNet reports. According to the outlet: “The era of individual ransomware operations appears to be ending, with fewer… Read More

December 27, 2018 @ 5:02 pm By Cali Haan  |  

The importance of storing one’s cryptocurrency safely was highlighted in South Korea this week when a court there decided that Korean crypto exchange Bithumb is not liable for customer funds hacked from an account there, Han Kyung reports. According to the outlet, an investor with… Read More

December 4, 2018 @ 2:18 am By Cali Haan  |  

“One of the most formidable hacking armies in the world,” is now believed to be targeting the crypto holdings of individuals, particularly wealthy ones, The South China Morning Post (SCMP) reports. North Korean hackers have been identified by Group IB and others as the likely culprits behind… Read More

November 13, 2018 @ 3:06 pm By Cali Haan  |  

An increasingly “techno-savvy” ruling elite in North Korea is using a “full range” of computerized devices and tactics, including the issuing of fraudulent ICOs (initial coin offerings), to evade global sanctions and, “…generate revenue for the Kim regime,” Insikt Group reports. Insikt’s cybersecurity researchers have… Read More

October 21, 2018 @ 11:00 pm By JD Alois  |  

Group-IB, a company that provides computer forensics and cybersecurity services large international companies, published a report last week the put a number to the frequent cryptocurrency exchange hacks that seem to happen on a weekly basis.  According to Group-IB, attacks during 2017 and through Q3… Read More

September 27, 2018 @ 2:40 pm By Cali Haan  |  

Lourdes Miranda, an independent financial intelligence analyst/financial crimes investigator, and Ross Delston, a lawyer specialized in anti-money laundering, have told the Asia Times that they believe North Korea (DPRK) is probably using cryptocurrency channels to skirt US sanctions. “International criminals everywhere prefer crypto-currencies and the… Read More

August 27, 2018 @ 8:12 pm By Cali Haan  |  

North Korea, a country more known for its ties to devastating hacks on South Korean crypto exchange than for white hat blockchain development, will evidently host a blockchain conference in Pyongyang this October, The Straits Times reports. The “Korean International Blockchain Conference” is set to take… Read More