Saudi Press

Saudi Arabia and the world
Thursday, Oct 02, 2025

U.S. Calls North Korean Hackers ‘World’s Leading Bank Robbers’

U.S. Calls North Korean Hackers ‘World’s Leading Bank Robbers’

North Korea was accused of being behind the 2014 hack of an internal computer network of Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., an audacious attack that exposed Hollywood secrets and destroyed company data.

On Wednesday, U.S. officials said that was only the beginning.

In indicting three North Korean computer programmers for their involvement in the Sony hack and other attacks on global banking, financial, entertainment and cryptocurrency entities, the U.S. Justice Department accused them and a group of conspirators of extorting more than $1.3 billion of cash and cryptocurrency.

The attacks included the attempted theft of nearly $1 billion from the central bank of Bangladesh in 2016, and a year later, holding two Central American casinos hostage for more than $2.5 million in ransom, according to U.S. officials.

More recently, the group has focused on stealing cryptocurrencies, according to prosecutors. The hackers discreetly injected malicious software into their own line of digital currency applications, granting them access to the devices of their victims, which included cryptocurrency companies in Slovenia and Indonesia and an unnamed financial services firm in New York.

In all, the victims of the cryptocurrency scam lost more than $100 million, according to the U.S.

North Korea’s hackers “have become the world’s leading bank robbers,” said John Demers, head of the Justice Department’s National Security Devision. “Simply put, the regime has become a criminal syndicate with a flag, which harnesses its state resources to steal hundreds of millions of dollars.”

The Indictment


The North Korean hackers were identified as Jon Chang Hyok, Kim Il and Park Jin Hyok. Other North Koreans allegedly involved in the conspiracy weren’t named. The indictment unsealed Wednesday expands on a criminal complaint charging Park in 2018 for his alleged involvement in a conspiracy to conduct multiple cyber-attacks, including the Sony hack.

In the face of global sanctions to punish it for its nuclear weapons program, North Korea has relied heavily on cybercrime to fill its depleted coffers. It had taken in about $2 billion in 2019 through the worldwide theft of resources from the financial sector, according to testimony to a U.S. House committee in June.

The alleged hacking campaign outlined on Wednesday was part of an elaborate operation aimed at collecting money for North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau, a military intelligence agency.

Pyongyang uses the Reconnaissance General Bureau to run its cybercrimes, according to a United Nations Panel of Experts responsible for investigating North Korea’s sanctions evasion. The agency’s hacking units are known as Lazarus Group and APT38.

As the North Korean hackers targeted institutions around the globe, from Los Angeles to Malta to Taiwan, the victims were either forced to or unknowingly lured into paying to prop up the North Korean regime, Demers said.

“According to several Member States, as well as open-source reports, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continues to target virtual asset service providers (for example, cryptocurrency exchange houses) and financial institutions for the purpose of evading United Nations sanctions,” the UN Experts’ panel said in a report last year.

Canadian Accomplice


To help move their money, the North Koreans allegedly turned to a Canadian man, Ghaleb Alaumary, who’s accused of organizing teams to launder millions of dollars stolen from automated teller machines, the U.S. said. Their victims included Pakistan’s BankIslami and an Indian bank, according to prosecutors.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Saudi Press
0:00
0:00
Close
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
UK, Canada, and Australia Officially Recognise Palestine in Historic Shift
New Eye Drops Show Promise in Replacing Reading Glasses for Presbyopia
Dubai Property Boom Shows Strain as Flippers Get Buyer’s Remorse
Top AI Researchers Are Heading Back to China as U.S. Struggles to Keep Pace
JWST Data Brings TRAPPIST-1e Closer to Earth-Like Habitability
UAE-US Stargate Project Poised to Make Abu Dhabi a Global AI Powerhouse
Trump and Starmer Clash Over UK Recognition of Palestinian State Amid State Visit
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Kuwait opens bidding for construction of three cities to ease housing crunch.
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Did the Houthis disrupt the internet in the Middle East? Submarine cables cut in the Red Sea
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
Uruguay, Colombia and Paraguay Secure Places at 2026 World Cup
Trump Administration Advances Plans to Rebrand Pentagon as Department of War Instead of the Fake Term Department of Defense
Tether Expands into Gold Sector with Profit-Driven Diversification
Trump’s New War – and the ‘Drug Tyrant’ Fearing Invasion: ‘1,200 Missiles Aimed at Us’
At the Parade in China: Laser Weapons, 'Eagle Strike,' and a Missile Capable of 'Striking Anywhere in the World'
Information Warfare in the Age of AI: How Language Models Become Targets and Tools
Israeli Airstrike in Yemen Kills Houthi Prime Minister
After the Shock of Defeat, Iranians Yearn for Change
YouTube Altered Content by Artificial Intelligence – Without Permission
Iran Faces Escalating Water Crisis as Protests Spread
More Than Half a Million Evacuated as Typhoon Kajiki Heads for Vietnam
HSBC Switzerland Ends Relationships with Over 1,000 Clients from Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Qatar, and Egypt
Sharia Law Made Legally Binding in Austria Despite Warnings Over 'Incompatible' Values
Dogfights in the Skies: Airbus on Track to Overtake Boeing and Claim Aviation Supremacy
Tim Cook Promises an AI Revolution at Apple: "One of the Most Significant Technologies of Our Generation"
Are AI Data Centres the Infrastructure of the Future or the Next Crisis?
Miles Worth Billions: How Airlines Generate Huge Profits
Zelenskyy Returns to White House Flanked by European Allies as Trump Pressures Land-Swap Deal with Putin
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
Cristiano Ronaldo Makes Surprise Stop at New Hong Kong Museum
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
×