The U.S. Has Released the Most Comprehensive Catalog of North Korean Cybercrimes Ever Made Public
SlateNorth Korea has always been a bit of an outlier among the countries that make extensive use of offensive cyber capabilities. But a December indictment unsealed this week by the Department of Justice makes clear just how central financial gain is to North Korea’s cyber activities. The indictment charges three hackers who work for the North Korean Reconnaissance General Bureau with a long list of computer intrusions and cybercrimes targeting victims all over the world and totaling some $1.3 billion in attempted theft and extortion efforts. It’s the most comprehensive and extensive catalog of North Korean cybercrimes the United States has ever made public, and it includes enough details to show not just how wide-ranging North Korea’s cyber exploits have been, but also which of those activities have been most lucrative. Instead, as the indictment describes, the charged individuals “sought to cause damage through computer intrusions in response to perceived reputational harm” or “to steal currency and virtual currency … or to obtain it through extortion, for the benefit of the DPRK regime—and, at times, for their own private financial gain.” Aside from a few cases like Sony Pictures in which North Korea sought to publicly shame a victim, most of the indictment details financially motivated instances of cybercrime.