North Korea Increases Hacking Against Global Financial Institutions
North Korea’s Hidden Cobra operatives have been robbing banks through cyber attacks for years. One of their biggest heists was stealing $81 million from a bank in Bangladesh and even tried to steal $1 billion from the US Federal Reserve. According to the below report the Kim regime has stepped up their cyber attacks against global financial institutions due to sanctions:
US officials said last week that Washington believes the North Korean government has stepped up cyberattacks targeting financial institutions in a desperate bid to acquire cash, as international sanctions levied against Pyongyang have squeezed its economy.
CNN
Kim and Trump’s meeting in Hanoi ended abruptly without a deal, as the two sides could not agree to a detailed plan exchanging sanctions relief for North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons.
Trump said in a news conference after the meeting that North Korea insisted that Washington lift all sanctions. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho disputed that assessment in a early morning impromptu press conference just hours after Trump spoke. He said that Pyongyang only asked the Trump administration to remove the sanctions “that hamper the economy and the livelihood of our people.”
Demers, the Justice Department official, said much of the hacking is motivated by North Korea’s desire for cash.
“They just need money,” Demers said. “They need hard currency. That’s a good way to get it.”
You can read more at the link, but regardless of any future lifting of sanctions, I believe the cyber crime by North Korea will continue because of the plausible deniability the Internet provides their operatives.
Watch your money folks because Kim Jong-un wants to pick your pocket.
