North Korea’s Cyber Threat
Washington has issued an advisory warning about North Korea’s (DPRK) ongoing cyber threat.
According to the statement,
“The DPRK’s malicious cyber activities threaten the United States and the broader international community and, in particular, pose a significant threat to the integrity and stability of the international financial system. […] The DPRK has increasingly relied on […] cybercrime to generate revenue for its weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs. In particular, the United States is deeply concerned about North Korea’s malicious cyber activities, which the U.S. government refers to as HIDDEN COBRA.”
The warning outlined some common tactics the Pyongyang-sponsored cyber criminals use to gain funds. Sometimes, the target is not a national asset or an individual or a business, but a financial institution or a digital currency. The illicit gains are then laundered within North Korea.
Despite its weak economy, The DPRK has the capability to conduct cyber activities that endanger both key national infrastructure for global goals, and private enterprises to illicitly profit from the hard work of others. The rogue nation has demonstrated a pattern of disruptive and harmful cyber activity that, according to the U.S. government, “[…] is wholly inconsistent with the growing international consensus on what constitutes responsible State behavior in cyberspace.”
Pyongyang’s state-sponsored cyber actors primarily consist of hackers, cryptologists, and software developers who conduct espionage, cyber-enabled theft targeting financial institutions and digital currency exchanges, and politically-motivated operations against foreign media companies. They develop and deploy a wide range of malware tools around the world to enable these activities and have grown increasingly sophisticated.
Extortion is a common tactic. The cyber crooks will threaten to disrupt or shut down entirely an organization’s valuable online presence unless money is paid. Occasionally, these arrangements are called “consulting contracts,” with the alleged services simply promising not to attack the business. It’s the 21st century of the old tactic of promising not to break a store window unless money is given to the vandal.
Another interesting approach is known as “cryptojacking.” That involves a scheme to compromise a victim machine and steal its computing resources to mine digital currency.
The attacks have been widespread, and have even included the U.S. government and the military.
The most famous cyber attacks include the 2014 assault on Sony Pictures, a 2016 attempt to steal a billion dollars from a Bangladesh bank, the infamous 2017 “Wannacry” virus that affected massive numbers of computers, including those used in private homes, and the 2016 “Fastcash” tactic which targeted ATMs in Asia and Africa.
There has been an international response. In December 2017, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United States, and the United Kingdom publicly attributed the WannaCry 2.0 ransomware attack to the DPRK and denounced its outrageous cyber activity. Denmark and Japan issued supporting statements for the joint denunciation of the destructive WannaCry 2.0 ransomware attack, which substantially affected hundreds of thousands of computers around the world in May of that year.
The FBI and other U.S. agencies have urged businesses and governments to strengthen their computer security, and to promptly report all attempts at theft and coercion by Pyongyang’s agents.
Washington has strongly urged countries to strengthen network defense, shutter DPRK joint ventures in third countries, and expel foreign-located North Korean information technology (IT) workers in a manner consistent with applicable international law. A 2017 UN Security Council resolution required all Member States to repatriate DPRK nationals earning income abroad, including IT workers, by December 22, 2019. The Trump Administration has requested that governments around the world, and the private sector as well, to enhance their capacity to deal with this threat and participate in international efforts to protect cyberspace.
Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government.
Originally published on Townhall Finance.
Frank Vernuccio serves as editor-in-chief of the New York Analysis of Policy & Government (website usagovpolicy.com). He is the co-host of the syndicated radio program, Vernuccio/Novak Report, and is also a contributor to Fox News. His columns appear in many newspapers. After graduating Hofstra Law School, he was a legislative editor for a major publishing company, then served in both Republican and Democrat Administrations. Following the 9/11 attack, he was appointed to run the hard-hit Manhattan branch of the New York State Workers Compensation Board.
Trending Now on Affluent Christian Investor
Sorry. No data so far.
The Affluent Mix
The Era Of No Consequences January 14, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio

Income And Well-Being January 14, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger

How Companies Pay Shareholders: Buybacks Don’t Subtract From Wages... January 14, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer

Taper Nervous Breakdown January 14, 2021 | Michael Pento

China, Democrats, And Donald Trump January 8, 2021 | Frank Vernuccio

Biochemical Engineer Ivor Cummins Discussing “The Rosetta Stone Of Modern ... January 7, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer

Hillbilly Elegy Economics Lesson: Culture Matters... January 7, 2021 | Roger McKinney

Take The Under On 2021 GDP January 7, 2021 | Michael Pento

How Companies Pay Shareholders: Buybacks Are Not A Giveaway... January 7, 2021 | Jerry Bowyer

The History Of Income Inequality And Popping Economic Bubbles... January 7, 2021 | Jim Huntzinger

Diseases Of Modernity: What Do They Have In Common?... December 22, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer

Mobocracy December 22, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio

Beware Market Land Mines: Stimulus, Vaccine Failure, Interest Rates... December 22, 2020 | Michael Pento

Following Classical Economics December 22, 2020 | Jim Huntzinger

What Prostate Cancer Taught Me About Our Fiscal And Physical Health Code Blue... December 22, 2020 | Kevin Cullis

The War Of The Worlds December 22, 2020 | Terry Applegate

Cuomo’s Partisan Authoritarianism Struck Down By SCOTUS... December 15, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio

Socialism: The Road-To-Hell Paving Company... December 15, 2020 | Roger McKinney

Amazon And The Los Angeles Lakers Wreck The Wage-Stagnation Narrative... December 15, 2020 | John Tamny

Capital Abounds, And It Needs A Place To Go... December 15, 2020 | David Bahnsen

How Companies Pay Shareholders: Buybacks Are Not A Giveaway... December 15, 2020 | Jerry Bowyer

Signs That Biden Will Be Soft On Iran December 10, 2020 | Frank Vernuccio

Join the conversation!
We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, vulgarity, profanity, all caps, or discourteous behavior. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain a courteous and useful public environment where we can engage in reasonable discourse.