How hacking became a key weapon for sanctions-hit North Korea

Résumé détaillé

The US$6.3 billion stolen in the Binance crypto theft is equivalent to about one-sixth of North Korea's annual national income, according to an analyst.

The US$6.3 billion stolen in the Binance crypto theft is equivalent to about one-sixth of North Korea's annual national income, according to an analyst.

SEOUL: The recent US$6.3 billion Binance cryptocurrency theft, which the United States’ Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has blamed on North Korea, has drawn fresh attention to the country's cyber capabilities and their growing importance to Pyongyang.

Analysts say North Korea has spent years systematically building its hacking operations, gaining a reputation as a major force in global cybercrime.

"You could say North Korea is good at choosing what to focus on," said Lee Ho-ryung, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for Defense Analyses (KIDA).

"In hacking, it's number one. You can see that as having invested heavily in illegal theft."

Lee added: "They (North Korea) select children gifted in math and science early and have them study intensively in hacking and code-breaking, this kind of illegal work."

Some are later sent to study in China or Russia, before going on to serve in cyber units linked to the military, state institutions and the ruling Workers' Party of Korea.

Pyongyang reorganised its hacking units earlier this year, expanding its top intelligency agency, the Reconnaissance General Bureau, and giving it more cyber capabilities.

Hacking is also carried out by the country's Munitions Industry Department, which oversees weapons production.

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