We need to block North from hacking Crypto

A South Korean academic has argued that Seoul must take steps to stop Pyongyang from hacking crypto targets south of the Demilitarized Zone – as tensions escalate between North Korea and its southern neighbour.

Reports from both South Korea and Japan have repeatedly stated that Pyongyang-based groups such as Lazarus have targeted a number of crypto-related targets in an attempt to raise funds.

In an opinion piece for the Joongang Ilbo newspaper, Kim Byung-yeon, the director of the National Future Strategy Institute at Seoul National University, wrote that “pessimism about North Korea’s denuclearization efforts” was now “boiling over” in South Korea.

Kim urged the government to increase the number of military personnel and civil servants dedicated to “monitoring and enforcement of sanctions.” He wrote that there was a need to “systematically coordinate with private companies and financial institutions.” Kim added that Seoul should increase funding for sanctions monitoring initiatives.

The academic wrote:

“In particular, it is necessary to reduce the flow of foreign currency into North Korea. We can do this by blocking mineral exports and preventing cryptocurrency hacking.”

Some claim that hackers based in the North are using social media platforms as tools to launch social engineering attacks and compromise passwords. UN officials have backed such claims, accusing Pyongyang-based groups such as Lazarus of a series of crypto-related hacks.

North Korean Crypto Hackers: Targeting S Korean Exchange Users?

Last year, a Seoul-based security expert told Cryptonews.com that “spear and vote phishing” attacks targeting crypto users and exchange employees were “undoubtedly on the rise” in South Korea, and “probably originated overseas in many cases.”

The expert explained that hackers often prey on crypto exchange customers, often calling them “claiming to be an official of a bank or a crypto exchange” in an attempt to gain their trust.

The Nordic region seems to have reacted to rapidly deteriorating relations with Seoul and the US with another missile launch.

Reuters, citing the South Korean military, reported that the North had fired a ballistic missile into the sea near the two nations. Sailors said they had “identified debris from a previous launch as part of a Soviet-era SA-5 surface-to-air missile.”