The internet has become a"critical tool" for the North Korean regime to evade sanctions and make money through cybercrime and fraud, researchers say.
The fingerprints of North Korea-aligned hackers have previously been found on ransomware outbreaks and cyber-intrusions on crypto exchanges, casinos and banks. Security experts have done extensive probes of one state-hacking unit known as"According to Insikt Group, the regime relies on the digital currency Monero to launder or move the proceeds of criminal activities.
"North Korea has developed an internet-based model for circumventing international financial controls and sanctions regimes imposed on it by multinational organizations and the West." They wrote:"North Korea is not only exploiting third-party nations to train cyber operators, but also possibly even to acquire nuclear-related knowledge banned by U.N. sanctions."
In 2018, the U.S. charged North Korean citizen Park Jin Hyok for his alleged role in"multiple destructive cyberattacks," including the massive WannaCry outbreak in 2017, the theft of $81 million from Bangladesh Bank in 2016 and the 2014 cyberattack on Sony Pictures."North Korea has developed a model that leverages the internet as a mechanism for sanctions circumvention that is distinctive but not exceptional," the report said.