North Korea ‘trying to hack Bitcoin’ as cryptocurrency value SURGES to record highs
KIM Jong-un and North Korea are hoping to profit from the cryptocurrency’s surge in value by hacking Bitcoin exchanges, say security researchers.
By THOMAS MACKI
Express.co.uk
Sat, Dec 9, 2017
Ashley Shen, an independent security researcher, said: “We assume one of the reasons why Bitcoin is being attacked is because the price keeps increasing and we think it’s reasonable for hackers (to target).
“Digital currency might be easier to gain than physical currency. So I think it’s reasonable.”
The value of Bitcoin has dramatically increased since it was first created in 2009.
During the last week alone, Bitcoin’s value has dramatically risen, peaking at a staggering £11,940 ($16,000) per coin.
Ms Shen and her colleagues have tracked attacks by hacking groups Lazarus, Bluenoroff and Andariel on financial institutions including banks in Europe and South Korea, Bitcoin exchanges and an ATM company.
The organisations are suspected to be operations run by North Korea
Ms Shen told Sky News: “Before when we tracked nation-state attackers, they usually perform cyber attacks which are aimed at confidential data and intelligence.
“However recently we’ve discovered that some of the APT (Advanced Persistent Threat) groups are trying to hack financial institutions like banks and Bitcoin exchanges to gain financial profit.”
She went on to add that the attacks have been unsuccessful so far.
The Rest…HERE
