Federal authorities reported Wednesday that three North Korean computer programmers have been accused of carrying out a series of cyberattacks in an attempt to steal and extort more than $ 1.3 billion in cash and cryptocurrency from financial institutions and companies.
The programmers, who are part of a North Korean military intelligence agency, are also accused of creating and deploying “multiple malicious cryptocurrency applications and fraudulently developing and marketing a blockchain platform,” according to a press release. of the Department of Justice.
And the scheme also deployed repeated “spearfishing campaigns” from 2016 to early 2020 aimed at employees of the U.S. Department of Defense, the State Department, and defense contractor workers, energy companies, companies aerospace and technology companies authorized by the United States. .
The hackers also took control of the banks ’ATMs to take money from them as part of the conspiracy, according to the indictment.
During a press conference on Wednesday, officials said that the development and marking in 2017 and 2018 of the so-called marine chain witness, which allowed investors to buy split stakes in blockchain-powered ships, allowed North Korea to “get secret funds from investors, controlling the interests of seagoing vessels and evading U.S. sanctions. “
Tracy Wilkinson, a U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, said, “The scope of the criminal conduct of North Korean hackers was extensive and long-lasting, and the range of crimes they have committed is incredible.”
Wilkinson also said, “The detailed conducts to the indictment are the acts of a criminal nation-state that has stopped at nothing to extract revenge and obtain money to defend its regime.”
The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles charged Jon Chang, 31, Kim Il, 27, and Park Jin Hyo, 36, members of units of the General Reconnaissance Bureau, an agency of North Korean military intelligence engaged in hacking. Authorities noted that Park was previously charged in a September 2018 criminal complaint detailing the cyberattack on Sony Pictures and the creation of the ransomware known as WannaCry.
At the same time, on Wednesday, officials announced that a Canadian-American citizen, Ghaleb Alaumary, 37, agreed to plead guilty to a money laundering plan and admitted that he helped the embedded North Koreans to ” take out “your” cyber “-stability bank robbery”.
Authorities said Alaumary organized teams of people in the United States and Canada to launder millions of dollars obtained by hackers through ATM transactions.
The conspiracy, according to officials, which was motivated by revenge or financial gain, according to the target, included Sony’s attack on 2014 for its satirical film “The Interview”, which represented the murder of North Korea, as well as the goal of AMC Theaters. , which showed the film. Another alleged target was Mammoth Screen, which produced a fictional series depicting a British scientist taken hostage by North Korea and suffering a digital intrusion in 2015.
Authorities also said hackers from 2015 to 2019 attempted to steal more than $ 1.2 billion from banks in Vietnam, Bangladesh, Taiwan, Mexico, Malta and Africa by breaking into their computer networks and sending fraudulent messages through the SWIFT banking messaging system.
Hackers are accused of targeting hundreds of cryptocurrency companies and stealing tens of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrencies.
A Slovenian cryptocurrency company snatched $ 75 million in that currency, authorities reported, and hackers stole nearly $ 25 million worth of cryptocurrency from an Indonesian cryptocurrency company in September 2018 and 11 , $ 8 million from the financial services firm of New York last summer through the use of malicious programs. CryptoNeuro Trader application.
Defendants are also accused of stealing $ 6.1 million from BankIslami Pakistan Limited as part of a series of ATM schemes, the creation of WannaCry 2.0 ransomware in 2017, “and extortion and attempted extortion of victim companies, ”the DOJ said.
And the scheme also allegedly developed multiple malicious cryptocurrency applications since March 2018 that allowed North Korean hackers to back down the victims ’computers. These apps include Celas Trade Pro, WorldBit-Bot, iCryptoFx, Union Crypto Trader, Kupay Wallet, CoinGo Trade, Dorusio, CryptoNeuro Trader and Ants2Whale, officials said.
“North Korean agents, who use keyboards instead of weapons, steal digital wallets of cryptocurrency instead of cash bags, are the world’s leading bank robbers,” said Deputy Attorney General John Demers of the National Security Division of the Department of Justice.
The case comes when the price of the leading cryptocurrency, bitcoin, has risen more than 400% in the last 12 months.
The price of Bitcoin has risen by more than 75% as a growing number of companies are feeling comfortable accepting it both as a tender and as a store of value and medium of exchange.
On Wednesday, at one point, Bitcoin was selling for $ 51,165, almost the historical record it hit earlier in the day, according to Coin Metrics.
JPMorgan has said it is considering allowing cryptocurrency banking and Bank of New York Mellon, the country’s oldest bank, said last week it would soon allow digital currencies to pass through the same financial network it currently uses for holdings. more traditional ones like the U.S. Treasury. bonds and stocks.
Payment companies such as PayPal and Mastercard have stepped up efforts on their platforms to support cryptocurrency processing. And electric car maker Tesla last week revealed in a government statement that it had invested $ 1.5 billion in bitcoin and planned to accept digital currency as payment for its products.
But the history of high-profile thefts and piracy of Bitcoin has left some still doubting its security, mostly because it is often stored in digital wallets on independent networks.
In recent years, thieves have stolen billions of dollars worth of billions of dollars. And the digital nature of these thefts often makes it difficult for authorities to track down scams.
– CNBC Tom Franck has contributed to this report