UN investigates after North Korean hackers steal millions from 17 countries

UN experts say they are investigating at least 35 instances in 17 countries of North Koreans using cyberattacks to illegally raise money for weapons of mass destruction programmes – and they are calling for sanctions against ships providing petrol to the country.

A summary of a report from the experts said North Korea illegally acquired as much as US$2 billion from its increasingly sophisticated cyber activities against financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges.

The lengthier version of the report reveals neighbouring South Korea was hardest-hit, the victim of 10 North Korean cyberattacks, followed by India with three attacks, and Bangladesh and Chile with two each. It said 13 countries suffered one attack: Costa Rica, Gambia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia and Vietnam.

The experts said they were investigating the reported attacks as attempted violations of UN sanctions, which the panel monitors.

The report cites three main ways that North Korean hackers operate: attacks through the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication or SWIFT system used to transfer money between banks, “with bank employee computers and infrastructure accessed to send fraudulent messages and destroy evidence”; theft of cryptocurrency “through attacks on both exchanges and users”; and “mining of cryptocurrency as a source of funds for a professional branch of the military”.