U.S. information agencies release malware attributed to N. Korea

Multiple U.S. government agencies including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have revealed that North Korea has used malware programs for phishing and other illegal activities to circumvent sanctions and secure funds, according to Forbes and other foreign newspapers.

Washington has also attached in its disclosure an analysis of the seven Trojan horses used by Pyongyang, six of which are new and one is an update to a virus that was previously attributed to North Korea.

The U.S. agencies said it “released malware attributed to North Korea.” They used to publicize dangerous malware and threats, but this is the first time they has named a nation.

Amid growing concerns over North Korea’s cyber crimes, The Washington Post published on Saturday an editorial that argued the sanctions of the 20th century on Pyongyang were not going to work. It pointed out that Western countries are tracing North Korea’s banking and restricting the import and export of coal and oil only to find out that the regime is stealing virtual currencies with ransomware and laundering funds with blockchain technology undetected.

Citing the United Nations Security Council’s report, the newspaper said the use of the Internet in North Korea has increased threefold for the last three years and it earned roughly two billion U.S. dollars through cyber attacks against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges in at least 35 countries. The Washington Post also argued that the Kim Jong Un regime already knew that it needed to cross the virtual borders to survive while sanctions were still focused on isolating the regime and that now it was time the rest of the world also realized it.


Bo-Mi Im bom@donga.com