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Online casinos with viruses as a new round of the North Korean economy.
According to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), North Korea has developed a new source of revenue by manufacturing and selling gambling websites that are initially infected with malware. Such sites are purchased by cybercrime organizations in South Korea.
Responsible for the operation is an IT organization associated with Secret Department 39 of the ruling Workers Party of North Korea, known as Gyeongheung. Division 39 is believed to play a key role in generating revenue for North Korean leaders, using both legal and illegal means to provide foreign exchange and funds.
According to reports, the scam generated billions of dollars in profit. Renting one such website costs about $5,000 per month, with an additional $3,000 technical support option. In some cases, websites can generate an additional profit of between $2,000 and $5,000 if you manage to collect a significant amount of banking data from the PayPal accounts of Chinese citizens.
The NIS investigation revealed that the websites contain malicious code in the automatic betting function, which is used to steal players personal data. Cybercriminals have already tried to sell about 1,100 data of South Korean citizens.
To circumvent UN sanctions prohibiting the hiring of North Korean workers, website creators posed as Chinese IT professionals by forging identity cards and professional data. Bank accounts in Chinese names and accounts of South Korean gambling sites were used to hide the traces. However, some customers deliberately did business with sanctioned North Korean operators due to low prices and ease of communication in a common language.
Gyeongheung is based in the city of Dandong on the China-Korea border, which has also become a center of China's textile industry due to the willingness of North Korean workers to work for low pay. North Korean IT professionals who illegally earn money in this region fit well into the local environment.
According to South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS), North Korea has developed a new source of revenue by manufacturing and selling gambling websites that are initially infected with malware. Such sites are purchased by cybercrime organizations in South Korea.
Responsible for the operation is an IT organization associated with Secret Department 39 of the ruling Workers Party of North Korea, known as Gyeongheung. Division 39 is believed to play a key role in generating revenue for North Korean leaders, using both legal and illegal means to provide foreign exchange and funds.
According to reports, the scam generated billions of dollars in profit. Renting one such website costs about $5,000 per month, with an additional $3,000 technical support option. In some cases, websites can generate an additional profit of between $2,000 and $5,000 if you manage to collect a significant amount of banking data from the PayPal accounts of Chinese citizens.
The NIS investigation revealed that the websites contain malicious code in the automatic betting function, which is used to steal players personal data. Cybercriminals have already tried to sell about 1,100 data of South Korean citizens.
To circumvent UN sanctions prohibiting the hiring of North Korean workers, website creators posed as Chinese IT professionals by forging identity cards and professional data. Bank accounts in Chinese names and accounts of South Korean gambling sites were used to hide the traces. However, some customers deliberately did business with sanctioned North Korean operators due to low prices and ease of communication in a common language.
Gyeongheung is based in the city of Dandong on the China-Korea border, which has also become a center of China's textile industry due to the willingness of North Korean workers to work for low pay. North Korean IT professionals who illegally earn money in this region fit well into the local environment.
