North Korea
16 unusual passport stamps of the world | Atlas & Boots
It may be unfashionable but I'm a bit of a box-ticker when it comes to travel. I'm working my way through the seven summits, the highest mountain on every continent (four down, three to go); I have a list of the countries I’ve visited (94 and counting!); and I keep track of memorable places such as the highest, lowest and driest spots I’ve visited. The post 16 unusual passport stamps of the world appeared first on Atlas & Boots.
North Korean hacking activity ceases after regulators implement KYC – Report
According to a new press report published by South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS), North Korean hackers have stolen more than 800 billion Korean won ($620 million) worth of cryptocurrencies from decentralized finance, or DeFi, platforms this year. The agency also revealed it blocked a daily average of 1.18 million attacks perpetrated by national and international hacking organizations in November. However, a NIS spokesperson revealed via local news outlet Kyunghyang Shinmun that all of the $620 million stolen by North Korean hackers through DeFi exploits occurred overseas, adding: “In Korea, virtual asset transactions have been switched to real-name transactions and security has been strengthened, so there is no damage.” Many funds have been lost ...
Proactive sanctions can help spare the ecosystem: Chainalysis exec
As many countries, entities and even individuals face international sanctions, the crypto industry seeks to find its place among increasing regulations. Digital currencies have often been mentioned as an avenue for those subject to sanctions to divert them, such as in the recent case of Russia. In such instances, exchanges and other industry players need to understand where they stand compliance-wise. Research out of Harvard even suggested that central banks can use Bitcoin (BTC) to fight off sanctions. Speaking to Cointelegraph’s managing editor Alex Cohen at the Israel Crypto Conference, Chainalysis head of sanctions Andrew Fierman said sanctions are nuanced depending on the many factors which surround the situation. “When you’re looking at countries like Iran and North...
US Justice Department seized $500K in fiat and crypto from hackers connected to DPRK government
The United States Department of Justice has seized and returned roughly $500,000 in fiat and crypto from a hacking group tied to the North Korean government, which included two crypto payments made by U.S. health care providers. In a Tuesday announcement, the Justice Department said in conjunction with the FBI it had investigated a $100,000 ransomware payment in Bitcoin (BTC) from a Kansas hospital to a North Korean hacking group in order to regain access to its systems, as well as a $120,000 BTC payment from a medical provider in Colorado to one of the wallets connected to the aforementioned attack. In May, the FBI filed a seizure warrant for funds from the two ransom attacks and others laundered through China, which the Justice Department reported as worth roughly $500,000 total. “These ...
Infamous North Korean hacker group identified as suspect for $100M Harmony attack
The Lazarus Group, a well-known North Korean hacking syndicate, has been identified as the primary suspect in the recent attack that saw $100 million stolen from the Harmony protocol. According to a new report published Thursday by blockchain analysis firm Elliptic, the manner in which Harmony’s Horizon bridge was hacked and the way in which the stolen digital assets were consequently laundered bears a striking resemblance to other Lazarus Group attacks. “There are strong indications that North Korea’s Lazarus Group may be responsible for this theft, based on the nature of the hack and the subsequent laundering of the stolen funds.” Additionally, Elliptic outlined exactly how the heist was executed, noting that The Lazarus Group targeted the login credentials of Harmony employees in ...
US Treasury Dept sanctions 3 Ethereum addresses allegedly linked to North Korea
The United States Treasury Department has added three Ethereum wallet addresses to sanctions allegedly linked to the hacker group responsible for the theft of more than $600 million in crypto from nonfungible token game Axie Infinity’s Ronin sidechain. In a Friday update, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, or OFAC, listed three Ethereum addresses to its Specially Designated Nationals restrictions for North Korea’s Lazarus Group. U.S. authorities, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, have targeted the group over its alleged role in taking more than 173,600 Ether (ETH) and 25.5 million USD Coin (USDC) from the Ronin sidechain in March — the tokens were worth more than $600 million at the time. The U.S...
FBI and CSIA issue alert over North Korean cyberattacks on crypto targets
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and FBI have issued an alert on North Korean state-sponsored cyber threats that target blockchain companies in response to the Ronin Bridge hack last month. The alert was issued on April 18 in conjunction with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Treasury Department which had warnings and mitigation suggestions for blockchain and crypto firms to ensure their own operations remain safe from hackers. With the @FBI, and @USTreasury, we released a new cybersecurity advisory on North Korean state-sponsored activity targeting blockchain technology and the cryptocurrency industry. Read the technical guidance and mitigation strategies: https://t.co/Oio478Ouv3 pic.twitter.com/VLa3HUrsPY — Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Ag...
Former Ethereum developer Virgil Griffith sentenced to prison
Virgil Griffith pleaded guilty the morning before his trial last year – a decision that took many by surprise In addition to a jail sentence, he was fined $100,000 for being in violation of sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) The verdict on the case against Ethereum ex-developer Virgil Griffith was delivered on Tuesday by US District Judge Kevin Castel, who sentenced the programmer to five years and three months in prison. Griffith, known for his work on the smart contracts blockchain Ethereum and the WikiScanner tool, was arrested by the FBI in November 2019, half a dozen months after his speech at a cryptocurrency conference in North Korea. The Department of Justice (DoJ) asserted that Griffith shared information to the Kim Jong Um administration on how to ...
North Korea-obsessed Ethereum dev gets 5 years for breaking sanctions
Virgil Griffith, a former Ethereum (ETH) developer has been sentenced to 63 months in prison and will pay a fine of $100,000 for attending a conference and assisting North Korea use blockchain technology in contravention of economic sanctions imposed by the United States. On Tuesday, April 12, U.S. District Judge Kevin Castel of the Southern District of New York handed down the decision. Judge Castel stated that “what you see here is intentionality, a deliberate, willful intent to violate the sanctions’ regime,” adding that the crime was made worse because Griffith had a “desire to educate people on how to evade sanctions.” In September 2021, Griffith pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, a law banning U.S. citizens from exporting an...
North Korea Has Publicly Executed at Least Seven People for Consuming K-Pop: Report
Kim Jong-un’s efforts to eradicate the K-Pop music that he considers a “vicious cancer” have resulted in at least seven people being publicly executed in North Korea, according to a new report by a human rights group. Via the New York Times, the study comes from the Seoul-based Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG), which interviewed 683 North Korean defectors since 2015. The authors attempted to map public executions in the decade since Kim became Supreme Leader in 2011, while also noting that public killings were on the decline as secret executions surged. Of the seven known executions for watching or distributing K-pop videos, six took place between 2012 and 2014 in the city of Hyesan on the Chinese border. Local people, especially students, were brought to view the violent spe...
North Korea Sentences Man to Death for Smuggling Copies of Squid Game
A man who allegedly smuggled copies of Netflix’s South Korean thriller Squid Game into North Korea has been sentenced to death after authorities caught high schoolers watching the show. RFA, a US-headquartered independent news agency, reported (via Variety) that the man carried episodes of Squid Game on USB flash drives obtained in China. The smuggler faces death by firing squad, which doesn’t sound too far off from the occurrences in the show. “A student who bought a drive received a life sentence, while six others who watched the show have been sentenced to five years hard labor, and teachers and school administrators have been fired and face banishment to work in remote mines,” RFA reported. Advertisement Related Video The smuggler’s actions go against North Korea’s “Eliminati...
North Korea Says Squid Game Proves Life in South Korea Is “Brutal”
Squid Game has officially taken over the pop culture world with its gruesome series of children’s games, and now even North Korea is weighing in on the massive Netflix hit. According to North Korean propaganda site Arirang Meari (by way of NBC News), the (fictitious) series proves that life in South Korea is “infested by the rules of survival of the fittest, corruption and immorality.” “The audience feel sad about the reality of South Korean society, which is becoming a brutal situation where humanity is destroyed in the extreme competition,” the article continues, also adding that the show depicts an “unequal society where the strong exploit the weak.” Notably, the nine-episode series touches on relations between North and South Korea, with one of the main protagonists being Jung Ho-...
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