North Korea is starting to become a real problem. It still baffles me that the US and other nations are hoping that stern words will encourage the controlled state to settle down.
Not only is North Korea causing problems politically, they’ve also resorted to attacking bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
This year alone, security company, FireEye Inc. [NASDAQ:FEYE] has confirmed cyber-attacks on at least three South Korean exchanges
As reported by Bloomberg this morning:
‘Hackers from Kim Jong Un’s regime are increasing their attacks on cryptocurrency exchanges in South Korea and related sites, according to a new report from security researcher FireEye Inc. They also breached an English-language bitcoin news website and collected bitcoin ransom payments from global victims of the malware WannaCry, according to the researcher.’
Bitcoin Price and Popularity Appealing to North Korea
Kim’s interests in bitcoin are probably similar to most punters — its price and popularity has gone through the roof. But what Kim hopes to use bitcoin for is much more troublesome.
Because of its lack of control and secretiveness, bitcoin is a useful tool to accelerate North Korea’s military operations. And security experts say North Korea’s embrace of digital cash will only increase into the future.
What effect that may have on bitcoin prices long term, only time will tell.
https://www.moneymorning.com.au/20170912/north-korea-uses-bitcoin-fund-military.html