Intelligence chiefs warn south of the DMZ North KoreaCryptocurrency hacking campaigns are likely to intensify in the coming year.
To ytnRecently, the South Korean National Intelligence Service (NIS) has established a National Cyber Security Cooperation Center alongside private security providers. The center would be tasked with responding to North Korean cyber threats.
The centre, NIS said, comprises “nine government agencies and five private IT security companies”.
NIS claimed that while the North has traditionally targeted South Korean crypto exchanges, it is now turning its attention to individuals. It will also target decentralized finance (DeFi) space, NIS said.
NIS said that in 2023, Pyongyang-based attackers will “focus on hacking DeFi services,” as these are in a regulatory “blind spot” in the South.
Seoul has blamed Pyongyang for several attacks on South Korea-based crypto exchanges. Seoul says North Korean hackers stole $7 million from Bithumb in February 2017. The South Koreans also say that Pyongyang effectively bankrupted a platform called Ubit in 2017 as well, after 17% of its cryptocurrency was stolen.
Seoul regulated exchanges. It now only grants operating licenses to exchanges that can prove they have advanced security protocols. Previously, security experts had said that Southern Exchange operated with minimal security levels.
they said they were “low hanging fruit” For experienced Pyongyang hackers. Some experts have claimed that the North cultivated “Elite” team of “cyber warriors”.
Coming ‘Deep Fake’ Attacks on Crypto Target from 2023, Says Seoul
The North has denied allegations that it hacks crypto, calling these American and South Korean “fabrications”.
The NIS warned that Pyongyang is developing advanced “deep fake” technology that could allow it to deceive social media and Internet users.
International security firms recently claimed that the North Korean hacking group Lazarus Distributing a virus-infected mycelium wallet clone on different Telegram channels.
They also claim that Lazarus operates A fake crypto exchange called Blockholder, Experts say that the latter contains pirated pages and content from the HaasOnline trading platform.
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