North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs: "The Height of Shamelessness"
North Korea warned, "The United States should keep in mind that if it provokes us, it could face serious consequences and would be wise to restrain itself." This was in response to the U.S. issuing a financial hacking alert against North Korea.
On the 30th, the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on its website under the name of the "Spokesperson for the National Coordination Committee for Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing," asserting, "Opposing various criminal acts in cyberspace is the unwavering position of the government of the Republic, and our country has well-established legal and institutional measures to prevent and eradicate various cyber crimes."
The statement defined, "Nevertheless, the U.S. is busy making a fuss by taking our cyber threats as a fait accompli and calling for joint countermeasures, which is a manifestation of their sinister intention to tarnish our international image and justify global pressure campaigns against North Korea."
The statement ridiculed the U.S., saying that it indiscriminately monitors, wiretaps, and disrupts the entire world through the National Security Agency's (NSA) PRISM program, calling the U.S., "the root cause of cybercrime," and that it is "the height of shamelessness and absurdity for them to talk about cyber threats."
'PRISM' is an NSA surveillance program that collects internet information such as emails from fiber optic cables passing through the U.S., which became globally known through the revelations of Edward Snowden, a former contractor for the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
The statement further said, "Recently, many countries' financial institutions have suffered massive hacking attacks and huge damages, which should first raise suspicion that it is the work of the U.S., which is struggling in a severe economic crisis," adding, "The U.S. forcibly linking our country to cybercrime is nothing more than a conventional tactic to divert criticism directed at them."
Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, explained, "This is not a statement related to an overall change in policy toward the U.S.," but "it reveals that cyber threats are included in the category of hostile policies toward North Korea, as presented in the statement by Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, last July."
Meanwhile, on the 26th (local time), four U.S. agencies?the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) under the Department of Homeland Security, the Treasury Department, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Cyber Command?issued a joint alert stating that a North Korean hacking team named 'BeagleBoyz' has resumed financial hacking using automated teller machines (ATMs).
'BeagleBoyz' refers to a hacking team under the Reconnaissance General Bureau, North Korea's intelligence agency, tasked with robbing banks remotely via internet access. The U.S. assigned this name to distinguish it from other malicious cyber activities by North Korea.
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