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North Korea Shining in Cybercrime
The Cyber Security Review | Monday, March 15, 2021
North Korea is directed at heightening its cyber capacities, and it's doing an extraordinary job of it.
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Fremont, CA : Although the US and the United Nations have imposed sanctions intended to limit the illicit funding of nuclear weapons, North Korea is showing to be skilled at sidestepping them. North Korea has swiftly expanded its cyber capabilities, both domestically and abroad. The regime is finding methods to exploit digital vulnerabilities around the world and begin cyberattacks, mostly by its hacking crews, named Hidden Cobra, or Lazarus Group, to extract money for its outlawed nuclear weapons development agenda.
In 2017, the US Department of Homeland Security and the FBI announced a unique cybersecurity bulletin that connected North Korea to numerous attacks on US businesses and significant infrastructure. The warning involved a type of malware dubbed Delta Charlie, which the Department of Homeland Security and FBI claim the North Korean government launched distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
The cybercrime market's capacity and the deficiency of effective security remain to be a lure for North Korean cyber groups. Nam Jae-Joon, the former director of South Korea's National Intelligence Service, announced that Kim Jong Un himself asserted that cyber abilities are just as powerful as nuclear power and that cyber warfare, besides nuclear weapons and missiles, is an 'all-purpose sword' that ensures North Korea's military's aptitude to strike.
Additional reports note that in May 2020, the North Koreans recruited 100 top-notch science and technology university graduates into its military to superintend tactical preparation systems. North Korea's state media confirmed the presence of a modern science and technology university, possibly related to the country's cyberwarfare and weapons development plans. This implies that the continuing investment of government funds is additionally strengthening the civil-military fusion, which is bound to heighten tensions on the Korean peninsula and international security affairs.
A US Army report concludes that North Korea hires approximately 6,000 cyber agents in four intelligence organizations across the globe. One of them being the notorious Lazarus Group, which is known to be the mastermind behind severe cyberattacks, including the 2017 WannaCry ransomware release.
Also, the Chinese government maintains official academic affiliations with military-affiliated North Korean academic institutions, partnerships that may create the base for added cyberattacks. Such collective government initiatives to encourage foreign exchanges and post-graduate programs may lead to extended cybercrime, given the curriculum these colleges teach. There are already concerns that Chinese universities are training future North Korean nuclear scientists. The question prevails how to stop these institutions from equipping North Korean cyber agents with the experiences and aptitudes they need to target high-level cyberattacks in the US and other superior economies.
The US government continues to discover fresh North Korean cyber organizations that pose dangerous international security concerns and intimidate US national interests. Even the pandemic isn't preventing North Korea from leveraging its cyber genius — like China and Russia — to steal funds from pharmaceutical firms researching COVID-19 vaccines and foreign countries' national COVID-19 relief funds.
Nevertheless, there is still hope for the US and its global associates. The US Department of Justice can mandate cybersecurity audits for US banks and financial institutions as part of prolonged prosecution agreements to strengthen compliance with basic cybersecurity protocols outlined by the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) and Financial Action Task Force (FATF). In addition to hardening cybersecurity protocols and information-sharing amongst banks and other financial institutions, the White House can cooperate with its partners on an in-depth investigation into the areas of North Korean cyber centres. Diligence is essential, since seemingly legitimate companies, hotels, and universities can all serve as harmless fronts to mask malicious North Korean-sponsored cyber action.
Although North Korea mostly plays second fiddle to China and Russia as a cyber threat, the tiny country is committed to strategically growing its cyber abilities and equalizing the playing field with China and Russia. The US will profit from coordinating with its allies to protect vital infrastructures, and shared global interests. Guarding against possible cyberattacks is essential, but interrupting the training and deployment of cyber agents is equally vital.
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