The United States has accused three North Korean computer programmers of carrying out massive cyber attacks. More than $ 1.3 billion (over 1 1 billion) in cash and cryptocurrencies could have been stolen in attacks on banks in Asia, Mexico and Africa. A Hollywood movie studio was also attacked.
The U.S. Public Prosecution Service said the three suspects were involved in the development of ransomware WannaCry 2.0. The British NHS health service, among others, was hit hard in 2017. With that software, computer systems were shut down and released only after a sum had been changed.
Names were revealed
In 2014, hackers attacked Sony Pictures. They wanted to avoid the movie Interview Published. In that joke, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is killed. In addition, the hackers obtained copies of numerous passwords and email addresses, deals with actors and passports from Sony’s customers. A month later, the US Federal Police FBI had sufficient evidence that it was a North Korean attack.
U.S. Justice also released the names of the three. John Chang Hyuk (31), Kim Il (27) and Park Jin Hyok (36) were serving in North Korean military intelligence during the attack. The Americans consider themselves still in North Korea, but they also previously operated from China and Russia.
The exact amount is not clear
The exact amount they stole is unknown because in some cases the theft was stopped or changed in a timely manner. In at least one attack in 2016, $ 81 million (67 million euros) would have been looted. The Bangladesh National Bank fell victim to this.
According to U.S. officials, the U.S. national, who has a Canadian background, was convicted of embezzling some of the hackers’ income.
According to a United Nations secret report, North Korea has stolen more than $ 300 million (0 260 million) in cryptocurrency in recent months. The panel decided that the money would go to the development of nuclear weapons and the effectiveness of international sanctions against North Korea. In total, the country is estimated to have stolen $ 2 billion over the years.
