[고립되는 韓 외교]
Attempt to take over 1.3 billion won including cryptocurrency
Confirmation of Willingness to Additional Sanctions Against North Korea
Block’money line’… North Korea’s strong backlash
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The US government has prosecuted three hackers from the North Korean Reconnaissance Office who have attacked companies and banks around the world while strengthening the anti-China front through a quad meeting. It is interpreted that the will of the Joe Biden government, which has said it is considering the possibility of “additional sanctions against North Korea,” has been confirmed. As North Korea is against this, the possibility of emerging as a new variable in US-North Korea relations after the inauguration of the Biden administration is raised.
The U.S. Department of Justice announced on the 17th (local time) that three hackers belonging to the North Korean military intelligence agency, the General Reconnaissance Bureau, were charged with attempting to steal more than $1.3 billion in currency and cryptocurrency, cyber attacks, and developing and distributing malicious cryptocurrency apps.
According to the complaint filed by the U.S. Department of Justice in December last year and released on the same day, the three prosecuted will each use the names Park Jinhyuk, Jeon Changhyuk, and Kim Il. They are known to be operating hacking troops under the names of’Lazarus Group’ and’APT38′ under the Reconnaissance General Bureau.
The prosecution was based on the case in which the U.S. government indicted Park Jin-hyuk in 2018, who was involved in a cyber attack of Sony Pictures in 2014. Lazarus Group suspected that it attacked Sony Pictures in the U.S., which produced a North Korean caricature film in 2014, and the Central Bank of Bangladesh in 2016, distributed ransomware named “WannaCry” in 2017, and attacked an ATM in India in 2019. It is known as a representative hacking organization linked to North Korea. The U.S. Treasury Department designated the Lazarus Group as a target for sanctions in 2019.
In particular, as North Korea is more dependent on’illegal hacking’ than other countries, it is interpreted that the US has blocked the money line. The Ministry of Defense explained in the 2020 Defense White Paper that the number of cyber units operated by North Korea reached 6,800, and an expert panel of the North Korean Sanctions Committee under the UN Security Council said in a recent annual report that North Korea obtained hacking from 2019 to last November. It was analyzed that the crime revenue was more than $316.4 million (433.2 billion won). On the 16th, the NIS reported that North Korea attempted to hack a domestic vaccine company through a briefing by the National Assembly Intelligence Committee. Handong University professor Park Won-gon said, “For North Korea, which is suffering from economic sanctions, flood damage, and a new coronavirus infection (Corona 19), the (hacking problem) could be a life and death problem.”
/ Reporter Kim In-yeop [email protected]
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