North Korea
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DoJ says North Korean IT workers were sent abroad to help finance weapons programs
The FBI says companies employing freelance IT workers "more than likely" hired one of these bad actors.
North Korean hackers targeted nearly 1,000 South Korean foreign policy experts
At least 892 foreign policy experts in South Korea were targeted by North Korean hackers.
North Korean hackers used an IE vulnerability to target South Koreans after Halloween tragedy
According to Google, North Korea’s APT37 state-sponsored hacking group took advantage of a previously unknown Internet Explorer vulnerability to target South Koreans following the Itaewon Halloween tragedy.
US imposes sanctions on cryptocurrency mixer that allegedly laundered over $7 billion
The US has sanctioned Tornado Cash, a cryptocurrency mixer that reportedly helped North Korea launder stolen funds.
North Korean hackers are using ransomware to attack healthcare providers, feds warn
They've apparently been targeting healthcare providers since May 2021.
US Treasury issues first-ever sanctions against a cryptocurrency mixer
The US Treasury has issued its first sanctions against a digital currency mixer, accusing Blender of helping North Korea launder crypto.
FBI believes North Korean hacker cell is behind last month's $600 million crypto heist
On Thursday, the FBI announced that it now attributes the heist, dubbed the Ronin Validator Security Breach, to a North Korean outfit calling itself the Lazarus Group.
Google says it thwarted North Korean cyberattacks in early 2022
Google's Threat Analysis Group announced on Thursday that it had discovered a pair of North Korean hacking teams that were targeting US media, IT, crypto and fintech firms in February.
US-Canadian gets 11 years for laundering money for a North Korean hacking group
A dual US-Canadian national has been sentenced to 140 months in prison for laundering tens of millions of dollars.
DOJ charges North Korean hackers over cryptocurrency thefts and cyberattacks
One defendant was previously indicted over the Sony Pictures hack and WannaCry ransomware attack.
Google reveals North Korean-backed campaign targeting security researchers
Google’s Threat Analysis Group has identified an ongoing campaign that’s been targeting security researchers working on vulnerabilities over the past few months. The team says “a government-backed entity based in North Korea” is behind the attacks, which typically use social engineering to engage the victims. In a post detailing the campaign, TAG’s Adam Weidemann explained that the bad actors would go to great lengths to gain the victims’ trust, mostly by posing as researchers themselves.
Microsoft: State-backed hackers targeted COVID-19 vaccine creators
Microsoft says state-backed Russian and North Korean hackers have targeted seven COVID-19 vaccine creators.
Chinese hackers impersonated McAfee to attack election campaign staffers
Google says that Chinese state hackers impersonated McAfee to trick election campaign workers into installing malware.
US charges Chinese nationals with laundering cryptocurrency for North Korea
Two Chinese nationals helped North Korea launder $100 million worth of cryptocurrency stolen by state-sponsored hackers, according to the Department of Justice. They allegedly helped convert funds from North Korean hackers between December 2017 and April 2019 through various means, including exchanging bitcoin for Apple iTunes gift cards. Further, they operated in the US without registering with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. The accused, Tian Yinyin and Li Jiadong, were charged with money laundering conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money transmitting business.
Crypto expert arrested for allegedly helping North Korea evade sanctions
North Korea has long been accused of using cryptocurrency to avoid sanctions, but the US is now accusing a man of giving the country some help American law enforcement has arrested crypto expert and Ethereum project member Virgil Griffith for allegedly providing North Korea with information on how cryptocurrency and blockchain tech could help the isolated nation evade US sanctions. He presented at a crypto conference in Pyongyang despite being denied permission to travel to North Korea, and reportedly discussed how the country could "launder money" and otherwise skirt trade barriers. There were several North Korean officials in the audience who asked him questions, according to the Justice Department.
UN claims North Korea hacks stole $2 billion to fund its nuclear program
United Nations experts say they are formally investigating at least 35 instances of cyberattacks by North Korea in 17 countries, believed to be carried out in a bid to fund its nuclear program. According to a report seen by Associated Press, North Korea has acquired as much as $2 billion from increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges.
Huawei allegedly developed a spy-friendly phone network for North Korea
If Huawei was hoping to mend its reputation in the wake of the de facto US ban, it's about to be disappointed. The Washington Post and 38 North have published joint reports indicating that Huawei helped build Koryolink, North Korea's highly restrictive cellphone network that went live in 2008. According to documents, Huawei partnered with China's state-owned Panda International Information Technology on projects in North Korea for at least eight years, with cooperation starting when then-dictator Kim Jong Il visited Huawei's headquarters in 2006. Huawei provided elements like cellular infrastructure, network management and encryption, while Panda provided software and transported Huawei gear.
In hacking, the blame game is purely for entertainment
As the holidays approach, I find myself missing the drama and spectacle of the Sony hack.You know, the kind of drama where a movie studio realizes it's under attack and decides that overacting will save the film. Or that threatening journalists to stop writing about it will put an end to all those "bad reviews" everyone's suddenly writing about Sony security. The holidays were made for this sort of thing. Can you even remember any of last year's Christmas specials? No. That's because watching Sony utterly fail to handle the epic breach with grace or wisdom was way more entertaining than seeing anything on ice last December.And then the whole twist, where FireEye points the finger at North Korea as a sort-of "red scare' Krampus in act three, well, that must be what people mean when they talk about the magic of Hollywood. Now, that's entertainment.
ICYMI: portable laser cannons, robotic tackling dummies, and fungus furniture
#fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312{display:none;} .cke_show_borders #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312, #postcontentcontainer #fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312{width:570px;display:block;} try{document.getElementById("fivemin-widget-blogsmith-image-495312").style.display="none";}catch(e){} Today on In Case You Missed It, Boeing unveils a drone-destroying laser cannon the size of a travel trunk. Also up, North Korea shows us all how calisthenics are done, a guy makes an ottoman out of mushrooms, and Dartmouth College unleashed a robotic tackling dummy upon its football team. If you come across any interesting videos, we'd love to see them. Just tweet us with the #ICYMI hashtag @engadget or @mskerryd. And if you just want to heap praise on your handsome guest host, feel free to hit him up @mr_trout.
Reuters: US launched a failed Stuxnet-like attack on North Korea
Iran wasn't the only country that had its nuclear ambitions targeted by a sneaky US cyberattack. It turns out the American government also tried to take down North Korea's nuclear programs with the Stuxnet worm five years ago, Reuters reports. But there was one major difference: That attack ultimately flamed out. While the US managed to get Stuxnet into Iran's nuclear facilities (reportedly by hacking suppliers), which ultimately led to the destruction of more than a thousand uranium enriching centrifuges, it never managed to get it into North Korea's core systems. It turns out having an extremely isolated network worked in North Korea's favor. That's particularly ironic since Stuxnet quickly made its way out of Iran and wreaked havoc across the web.
