The UN is investigating 35 North Korean cyberattacks across 17 countries, per a report printed on August. 13 by Associated Press. This follows last week’s leaked summary of the report, stating that $2 billion had been hacked by the nation so far to fund weapons programs.

The majority of incidents being probed were carried out via one of 3 main attack vectors.

South Korea bore the brunt of most attacks

South Korea is by far the favorite target, suffering 10 of the attacks detailed within the report, with India next, being a victim of 3 attacks. However, incidents being investigated have taken place in countries across Africa, Central and South America, South East Asia, the Middle East and Europe.

Three key methodologies to avoid sanctions

Some of the foremost audacious hacks are on the Society for Worldwide Interbank Monetary Telecommunication (SWIFT) system. In one instance a group ‘headhunted’ a Chilean interbank staff through LinkedIn. Another hack put in malware on a whole nations ATM system leading to 10,000 fraudulent cash distributions across 20 countries.

Cryptocurrency exchanges and users also are popular target vectors. South Korean exchange, Bithumb has been attacked a minimum of four times. When one 2018 attack on an unidentified exchange, stolen funds “were transferred through a minimum of 5,000 separate transactions and further routed to multiple countries before eventual conversion.”

The final technique of raising funds is via cryptocurrency mining, often through crypto-jacking. This involves installing malware onto a computer that then uses system resources to mine cryptocurrency on behalf of the offender. The global organization analyzed one piece of malware designed to mine the privacy-focused altcoinMonero and send the take to servers at Kim Il-Sung University in Pyongyang.

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