North Korean Government Revenue Aided By Crypto Heist

Worldwide sanctions against the government of North Korea keep the country isolated. In the era of cyber warfare, state actors have turned to hacks and cyber theft as a means of increasing government revenues.  

The latest, in March, involved a crypto theft pulled off via a popular online game. The government is thought to have netted more than $600M through the attack, which it processes through banks and institutions that do not participate in the effort to sanction North Korea.

Why it Matters

The US has heard plenty of warnings in the last two months about potential Russian cyberattacks on US business interests in connection with US support for Ukraine. Although those warnings are important, they may detract from the ongoing reality that state actors from rogue countries use cyberattacks as part of their standard operating procedure, even in the absence of an actual war.  Business information, personal information, money, cryptocurrency: all these assets of the west are attractive targets for cash-strapped countries. As important to many state actors is the potential to disrupt western/American commercial interests through malware, ransomware, and other threats that may or may not involve any theft but that sow plenty of disruption.  

Any company with computers or devices connected to the internet can suffer an attack. There is no virtual military checkpoint at the US cyber border to prevent "bad guys" from getting in; it is up to each individual business to ensure that they have planned and upgraded adequately to protect their interests and that of their customers.