White House: N. Korea utilizes AI technology to hack virtual currencies

As the White House recently announced that North Korea is increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) technology to hack virtual currencies, South Korea and the United States have jointly issued an advisory recommending heightened caution against fraudulent job-seeking activities by North Korean IT personnel.

“We believe that some North Koreans, along with actors from other countries and criminal organizations, are employing AI to develop malicious software. We have been monitoring their activities bent on looking for systems to manufacture such software and exploit,” Anne Neuberger, Deputy National Security Advisor for Cyber and Emerging Technology at the National Security Council of The White House, stated during an online briefing on Thursday. “North Korea's involvement in cryptocurrency hacking, spanning across locations such as Singapore, Vietnam, and Hong Kong, serves as a significant source of funding for North Korea's missile development.”

Accordingly, on Thursday, South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Intelligence Service, the National Police Agency, the U.S. State Department, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) issued a joint advisory addressing deceptive employment attempts by North Korean IT personnel.

Both countries have highlighted that individuals should raise suspicions if they fail to participate in a video interview or meeting and if the time, location, and appearance displayed on the screen are inconsistent, as such inconsistencies may indicate that the person is a North Korean IT personnel.

According to Reuters, the U.S. Department of Justice announced that it had seized an additional 17 website domains used by North Korean IT workers for fraudulent employment abroad. They also confiscated $1.5 million in earnings from North Korean IT workers who had been working undercover twice since last year.


71wook@donga.com