The report, from cybersecurity firm FireEye, found three attacks against South Korean cryptocurrency exchanges traced to North Korean hackers between May and July of this year.
“The ability of regimes like Kim Jong Un’s North Korea to mine or steal cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin is a new reason to be cautious in treating these commodities as currencies,” University of Georgia Professor Jeffrey Dorfman said in an email exchange. “While rogue states have practiced counterfeiting even longer than they have been computer hacking, counterfeiters are easier to catch. Once a cryptocurrency is stolen, it is virtually impossible to stop the new owner from spending it, and doing so in untraceable ways.”
via North Korean hackers’ attempts to steal bitcoin are a huge wake-up call—Commentary