Is North Korea trying to steal
US weapons, secrets? If Pyongyang using hackers to further its
nuclear ambitions,
the US and its allies have no doubt about it.
On Thursday, the US, the UK and South Korea released
a joint advisory announcing their announcing their findings.
They accused North Korean hackers of launching a global cyber
espionage campaign against the West.
According to their report, North Korean hackers have attacked NASA,
American Air Force bases and defense firms,
all with the goal of stealing classified military secrets to
support its banned nuclear weapons program.
The group of hackers, dubbed ANADEL or
APT45 by cybersecurity researchers, have allegedly targeted and breached computer
systems at a wide variety of American defense firms.
The group of hackers believed to be part of North
Korea spy agency,
also known as the Reconnaissance General Bureau and entity sanctioned
by America
in the year 2015.
In fact, the joint advisory says that this North Korean
cyber unit has tried to steal sensitive military information in
four main areas nuclear,
defense, aerospace and engineering. It has targeted the makers of
tanks,
submarines, torpedoes, fighter jets, missile and radar systems,
satellites, government nuclear facilities. Who are the victims?
According to the joint notice,
NASA, Randolph Air Base in Texas,
Robbins Air Base in Georgia,
the FBI and the US Justice Department along with the
USUK,
South Korea, even India and Japan have reportedly been targeted.
But this is not the first time.
In February 2022, the North Korean hackers reportedly targeted NASA
using a malware script to gain unauthorized access to its
computer system for three months.
Over 17 gigabytes of unclassified data were reportedly extracted at
the time.
Now, the authoring agencies believe the group and its cyber
techniques remain an ongoing threat to various industry sectors worldwide,
including but not limited to entities in their respective areas,
as well as in Japan and India.
Internationally isolated due to sanctions,
North Korea has a long history of using covert hacking
teams to steal sensitive military information.
In fact, on Thursday, the US Justice Department said it
had charged one suspect.
Yes, the US has identified one man
for the hacking
rim, Jong Hyuk. He has been charged
for conspiring to access computer networks in the United States
and also for money laundering.
One of the ransomware incidents that RIM is charged with
involves a May
2021 hack against a Kansas based hospital.
They paid ransom after the hackers encrypted four of its
computer servers.
Now if you thought that was intriguing,
heres the kicker. The hospital was paid in Bitcoin,
which was then transferred to a Chinese bank.
The payment was then withdrawn from an ATM in Dangdong,
China, located right next to the Sino Korean Friendship Bridge,
which by the way, connects the city
to North Korea.
The FBI said it is offering a reward of up
to $10 million for any information that would lead to
Rim Jong York's arrest.
He is believed to be in North Korea.
U.S. officials told reporters on Thursday that they have seized
some of the online accounts belonging to the hackers,
including $600,000 in virtual currency that will be returned to
the victims of ransomware attacks.
The fresh revelations raised several questions,
chief among them being the question of whether North Korea
is acting alone or being aided by an ally in
this operation.
We don't know yet, but if the joint document is
anything to go by,
North Korean cyber warfare is clearly expanding.
If they have already breached some of the most secure
systems,
what's next on their radar?
Are the vulnerable countries prepared
to stay up to speed with the latest news?
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