A UN body coordinator calls for greater attention to cyber crimes in North Korea
The coordinator of the UN body to oversee the enforcement of sanctions on North Korea said a crackdown on cybercrime was needed, which had become fundamental to Pyongyang’s ability to finance banned weapons programs.
Eric Penton-wok of the United Nations Security Council’s Panel of Experts on North Korea noted that despite the most comprehensive sanctions regime ever imposed on a nation state by the United Nations, North Korea has delayed its missile tests, particularly in the past. Accelerated in six months. ,
“It can be no coincidence that the terms cyber and crypto-currency do not actually appear in UN sanctions resolutions,” he said at a discussion organized by Washington’s Center for a New American Security Think Tank.
Mr Panton-wok said he believed cyber activity had become “absolutely fundamental” to North Korea’s ability to evade UN sanctions to raise funds for nuclear and missile programs, but experts The panel’s biennial report did not reflect this as member states had been. Reluctant to report violations.
“We rely on UN member states to inform us of breaches for investigation. But many, many member states are quite vigilant about their cyber capabilities,” he said.
“Victims for their part are often very reluctant to discuss how the hacks happened and how widespread they were… I hope and hope that our reports in the future will better illustrate the central importance of cyber-enabled financial crime. (North Korea)”.
Mr Panton-wok said North Korean hackers are at the cutting edge of cyber technology, as demonstrated by the recent hack of the Axi Infinity video game.
The United States last week linked North Korean hackers to the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency linked to Axi Infinity.
Ronin, a blockchain network that lets users transfer crypto in and out of games, said that about $615 million in digital cash was stolen on March 23.
A post on the official Ronin blog said the FBI had blamed the Lazarus Group for the hacking, a hacking unit Washington says is controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea’s primary intelligence bureau.
He has been accused of involvement in the “WannaCry” ransomware attacks, hacking of international banks and customer accounts, and the 2014 cyber attacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Washington is pushing the UN Security Council to blacklist Lazarus and freeze his assets, according to a draft resolution reviewed by Reuters last week.