North Korea's elite hackers turned on their own government – and got caught
3 hours ago
- North Korea's state-trained hackers, known for stealing from foreign banks and funding weapons programs, are now accused of robbing their own government's banks.
- A hacking ring was arrested on July 12 by North Korea's National Intelligence Agency for a scheme to steal from the Chosun Central Bank and Foreign Trade Bank.
- The ringleaders are reportedly discharged veterans from a cyber operations unit under the Reconnaissance and Intelligence General Bureau, linked to the Lazarus Group.
- The group used Chinese wireless equipment and encrypted apps to hack bank networks, moving funds in small increments to cryptocurrency wallets.
- Brokers in China and contacts in border areas helped convert and launder the funds into cash and foreign currencies.
- Authorities detected discrepancies in payment approvals and traced encrypted traffic to a location in Pyongyang, raiding it on July 12.
- Punishment in North Korea is expected to be severe, potentially extending to the hackers' families, as they used state-trained skills against the state.