North Korean Hacker Group APT43 Uses Encryption Services to Launder Money: Mandiant Report

According to a new report from the intelligence company Mandiant, the North Korean hacker group APT43 uses encryption services such as computing power leasing and cloud mining to launder money. According to the report, the United States and South Korea are the two main targets of the organization. Unlike other North Korean organizations such as APT38, APT43’s main task is not to raise funds for the government, but most likely to maintain its own operations. Mandiant said that APT43 may use stolen Bitcoin to pay for computing power rental fees and cloud mining services, and produce “clean Bitcoin.”. Cloud mining services provide anyone with the opportunity to remotely mine Bitcoin for a fee, without the need to directly install and run mining machines.

Report: North Korean hacker group APT43 uses encryption services to launder money

As per a recent report by Mandiant, the intelligence company, North Korean hacker group APT43 employs the use of encryption services, such as computing power leasing and cloud mining, to launder money. Despite the United States and South Korea being the two primary targets of the organization, APT43’s main objective is not to raise funds for the government, but most likely to maintain its own operations.

A Look At APT43

APT43 is a North Korean advanced persistent threat (APT) group that is typically involved in carrying out cyber espionage operations against the governments, corporations, and media sectors. They are well-known for launching their campaigns anonymously, but a few campaigns that were eventually traced back to them include: a campaign against electric power companies, the use of supply-chain malware, watering hole attacks, and the use of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks targeting South Korean websites.

The Use of Encryption Services by APT 43

Mandiant reports that APT43 may be utilizing stolen Bitcoin to pay for computing power rental fees and cloud mining services, and in turn, creating “clean Bitcoin.” Cloud mining services provide an excellent opportunity for anyone to remotely mine Bitcoin for a fee, without the need to install and run mining machines directly.
For APT43, the use of encryption services is not for security purposes; rather, it is mainly to cover their tracks as they carry out their illegal activities. They can use these services to cover their activities across different cryptocurrencies, ensuring that their activities are not traced back to them.

Conclusion

The use of encryption services in money laundering is not a new phenomenon. It’s not surprising that a hacker group like APT43 is using these services to cover their activities in the cyberspace. The only way to curb these activities is for financial institutions, governments, and other stakeholders to be more vigilant and employ more stringent anti-money-laundering measures.

FAQs

#Q1. What is the significance of cloud mining services?

Cloud mining services provide a great opportunity for anyone to participate in the mining of cryptocurrencies from remote locations.

#Q2. Which countries are the primary targets of APT43?

APT43 mainly targets the United States and South Korea.

#Q3. What is the significance of APT43’s use of encryption services?

APT43 uses encryption services mainly to cover their tracks as they carry out their illegal activities, such as money laundering.