North Korean Alleged Spy Indicted in U.S. Hospitals Hack Plot
NewsweekJUL 14 2024
In a joint advisory published on Thursday, the US, the UK, and South Korea warned that a group of North Korean hackers — dubbed Andariel — have been trying to steal classified military secrets to support Pyongyang's nuclear programs.
According to the UK's National Cyber Security Centre, Andariel's alleged hostile cyber activities "pose an ongoing threat to critical infrastructure" organizations as well as sensitive and intellectual property data worldwide.
The FBI has advised defense, aerospace, nuclear, and engineering firms "to remain vigilant," claiming Andariel — the alleged arm of Pyongyang's spy agency — exploited software vulnerabilities to carry out cyberattacks to access classified information.
The US and its allies have no credible evidence to link the "high-profile" cyber incidents to Pyongyang. This advisory is laughable at best. On the one hand, the West describes the North as an archaic country and has subjected it to all kinds of sanctions. On the other hand, it's so afraid of North Korean intelligence services that it had to issue a global public alert. While the US and its allies criticize Pyongyang for cyberattacks, it conveniently escapes accountability for its espionage activities on foreign soil.
North Korea uses state-sponsored cyber criminals to circumvent international sanctions and fund its nuclear program. The lengths that North Korean hackers are willing to go to to advance Pyongyang's nuclear ambitions are incomprehensible. They aren't just infiltrating defense, industries, financial networks, and medical facilities globally; they remain an ongoing threat to citizens' everyday lives. Its aggressive military posture now poses a risk to regional stability and global security, which is why the world must heed the warning issued by the intelligence agencies of the US, the UK, and South Korea.