US Presents $10M Double-Reward for North Korea Cyberattacker Information

The federal Rewards for Justice program has doubled, to $10 million, the out there reward for helpful details about North Korean state-sponsored actors’ assaults on US healthcare programs and different important infrastructure.

The State Division has a Tor-based tip line the place anybody can submit info they’ve on North Korean-sponsored risk actors, together with Lazarus Group, Kimsuky, BlueNoroff, and Andariel, all linked to the DPRK authorities equipment.

Earlier this month, the FBI, US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Company (CISA), and the Treasury Division issued a warning that North Korean state-sponsored actors are attacking the US healthcare and public well being sectors with a brand new ransomware instrument known as Maui.

Additionally in July, Microsoft warned {that a} North Korean APT risk it calls DEV-0530 has been utilizing a customized ransomware dubbed H0lyGh0st to efficiently compromise small companies in a number of international locations.

The hefty reward indicators the success the DPRK has had utilizing cybercrime to fund its actions as a strategy to work round stringent worldwide sanctions, in accordance with Kevin Bocek, vp of safety technique and risk intelligence at Venafi.

“This cash is being funneled immediately into weapons applications, and cybercrime has develop into an important cog within the ongoing survival of Kim Jong Un’s dictatorship,” Bocek stated by way of e-mail, in response to the reward hike announcement. “Worryingly, this blueprint can be being mimicked by different rogue states. So, slicing North Korean cybercrime off on the supply is important to the nationwide safety of the U.S. and its allies.”