A hacker group hacked the Central Bank of North Korea.

A group of former North Korean state hackers hacked the Central Bank of North Korea (Choson) and the country’s Foreign Trade Bank, managing to move the stolen funds via cryptocurrency.
Former employees of the DPRK’s elite government cyber units joined an underground group and brought in young IT specialists from leading universities in Pyongyang as collaborators.
Using the skills obtained in government service, the hackers bypassed the internal networks and payment systems of the central bank. The money was withdrawn in small tranches to foreign crypto wallets. Then Chinese brokers exchanged the digital assets for cash in US dollars and yuan, which were delivered to the DPRK through a network of intermediaries.
North Korea’s financial authorities noticed discrepancies during the reconciliation of currency transactions and identified suspicious connections to banking systems from foreign IP addresses.

The central bank and foreign trade bank buildings were completely blocked and placed under enhanced security by armed special services personnel.
Special vehicles with scanners patrol around Pyongyang; they look for radio signals and spy equipment operating on non-standard frequencies.
The DPRK National Intelligence Service identified a covert safe house in Pyongyang. Organizers and technical specialists were detained. Computers and illegal “disposable” phones were seized.
Those implicated face the death penalty for theft from the state treasury. Under the investigation and through harsh purges, their families may also be affected, along with senior officials of the DPRK’s General Intelligence Bureau.

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