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United States Crime

US Charges Three North Koreans in $1.3 Billion Hacking Spree (reuters.com) 29

Posted by msmash from the breaking-news dept.
The United States has charged three North Korean computer programmers with a massive hacking spree that stole more than $1.3 billion in money and cryptocurrency, the Department of Justice said Wednesday. From a report: Officials added that a Canadian-American citizen has pleaded guilty to laundering some of the alleged hackers' money. The indictment alleges that Jon Chang Hyok, 31, Kim Il, 27, and Park Jin Hyok, 36, stole money while working for North Korea's military intelligence services. Park had previously been charged in a complaint unsealed in 2018.
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US Charges Three North Koreans in $1.3 Billion Hacking Spree More

US Charges Three North Koreans in $1.3 Billion Hacking Spree

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  • Idiocy (Score:4, Funny)

    by Frank Burly ( 4247955 ) on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @12:18PM (#61072496)
    Do you know how many ransomware attacks they will have to commit to pay this off?
  • Article doesn't specify where they located... If they're in NK, the Justice department won't be able to do a damn thing about it.

    • Article doesn't specify where they located...

      It does, near the end: the Los Angeles Field Office, told reporters that the three alleged hackers were believed to be in North Korea.

      If they're in NK, the Justice Department won't be able to do a damn thing about it.

      Indeed. This is a pointless political gesture. Most likely, dozens of agents were involved, and millions of taxpayer dollars were spent on something that makes no difference to anyone.

      • Re: (Score:1)

        by rtb61 ( 674572 )

        It is far worse and more stupid than that. They have basically notified those individuals never to go where they can be arrested. It really comes off like the case is utter bullshit because clearly they have zero interest in catching those persons, notifying them before hand, so just a empty geopolitical stunt.

        Like a heads up, please don't let us arrest you because then out bullshit geopolitical stunt case will fall apart. What happened to the sneaky shite, like winning a free trip to Disneyland on fly nake

    • The three that were charged are in North Korea. The actual culprits, the masterminds behind WannaCry, were the NSA and are located in the United States. The NSA discovered the vulnerability which WannaCry targetted, and instead of actually doing their job of security and notifying about the weakness, they instead weaponized the vulnerability and developed software that targeted it. This software was then leaked and became the vector for WannaCry.

      It's like if a branch of the government secretly developed

  • If you have 1.3 Billion in the bank you just disappear off the map. You don't hang around waiting for the law to catch up with you.

    Hang on... these guys work for the North Korean government? In that case how does the USA charge them, exactly?

    • Re:Idiots. (Score:5, Insightful)

      by kot-begemot-uk ( 6104030 ) on Wednesday February 17, 2021 @01:12PM (#61072724) Homepage

      If you have 1.3 Billion in the bank you just disappear off the map. You don't hang around waiting for the law to catch up with you.

      Hang on... these guys work for the North Korean government? In that case how does the USA charge them, exactly?

      The way it does.

      This is a purely political gesture. If these gentlemen even exist in real life (they were probably fake identities), they have new identities now and they are celebrating their promotions with a suitably indoctrinated harem in a NK spa for party officials somewhere at one of their many hot springs in their mountains.

      The idea is to show that Biden is tough on NK and Trump was softy softy.

      In the meantime, fat Kim the Turd is still doing whatever he effing pleases.

      • Well this turned political in a hurry.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by cfalcon ( 779563 )

          No, it fucking didn't. This is an article about the North Korean government conducting cyberattacks. This is a 100% political article from the headline. It didn't "turn political". It's LITERALLY politics from the top.

          • What does the current president have to do with charging people for crimes?

            • It doesn't. This is so far below the president's radar that he probably wasn't even briefed. It's also foolish to attribute this to the current administration in any way since it would constitute the single fastest thing government has ever managed to do. Instead some low level officials that have probably been kicking around since the Bush and Clinton administrations finally pushed some paper through the system as part of a process that started years prior and which the previous administration received no
              • I am quite confident that one of these times N. Korea will fuck up. One of their missile tests will land in Tokyo or someone will do something real stupid. Then they'll be turned into an ashtray in short order. End of problem. Why should we worry about China? If their jets and bombs work like everything else they make it should all be over pretty fast.
            • Both the charges and the decision to publicise in cases like this in USA are done after clearing them with the Office of the Director of National Intelligence which reports directly to the President. The FBI and the Justice department do not decide that alone and do not decide on the publicity alone. Especially the latter as this is a matter of hostile operations of an adversary country on USA soil.

              It is a political act and is a part of the overall security theatre.

        • Lets turn it geeky.

          "...with open-source!"

          There. Happy?

      • Or...these are the real guys, but only ripped of several million dollars. The US wildly inflates their 'earnings' and reports this figure widely in the press.

        When pyscho Kim goes ballistic, literally, for their theft/disloyalty justice is served remotely.

      • If he is even still alive. For communists they sure are a monarchy. Last I heard his dimented sister is running things now.

        • Well technically they claim to be Juche but like most supposedly communist countries they're not what they claim, certainly not an independent isolated workers paradise. They're heavily dependent on acquiring resources from the outside world and obviously it's not a fun place for workers either.

    • Funny at times they were stationed and operating in Russia and China according to article. Maybe immigration laws and background checks aren't such a bad thing

  • They were Canadian citizens so almost no amount of money will make them work for North Korea. I have a feeling that they did it to help their relatives in North Korea. Keep them housed and fed.

    • No, they are not Canadian citizens, only some guy that laundered some of the money. They are both North Koreans in North Korea (DPRK).

  • Can the US use these charges to try and claim NK assets abroad and freeze them or receive a judgement equal to the amount stolen?

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