FBI wanted poster for Park Jin-hyok. Screenshot from the FBI websitePark Jin-hyok, a North Korean hacker on the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation’s wanted list for the past eight years, is drawing fresh attention after about 8 trillion won in cryptocurrency was stolen from Binance, the world’s largest digital asset exchange. Online commenters have even weighed in on his appearance.Park has been listed among the FBI’s publicly wanted cybercrime suspects since 2018, according to the agency’s website on the 9th. U.S. investigators have released his identity and photograph but have yet to take him into custody.North Korean Hacking Group Blamed for 8.4 Trillion Won TheftIn a cybersecurity advisory released on Oct. 31, the FBI attributed the theft of more than $6 billion, or about 8.4 trillion won, in cryptocurrency from Binance to North Korea.Investigators identified the activity as the work of TraderTraitor, a group known to be linked to Lazarus, North Korea’s best-known hacking organization.Park also faces charges of taking part in Lazarus-linked cyberattacks. The FBI, however, did not say Park was directly involved in the Binance breach.Park became internationally known in September 2018, when the U.S. Justice Department disclosed his identity. Washington charged him at the time with involvement in the 2014 hack of Sony Pictures, the 2016 theft of funds from Bangladesh’s central bank and the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack.The best-known case is the cyberattack on Sony Pictures, the U.S. film studio. It came in 2014, ahead of the release of “The Interview,” a film about a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.The hackers struck the studio’s internal network, leaking unreleased films and personal data on employees and damaging computer systems. U.S. investigators concluded that North Korea carried out the attack in retaliation for the film.In 2016, he was accused of helping to siphon $81 million from Bangladesh’s central bank. The following year, he was named as a participant in the WannaCry ransomware attack, which inflicted heavy damage on hospitals, companies and public institutions worldwide.A Programmer From a Top North Korean UniversityPark studied at Kim Chaek University of Technology in North Korea and then worked as a programmer at Chosun Expo Joint Venture, a software development firm, according to U.S. investigators.The U.S. government concluded that the company presented itself as a software developer but was in fact a front supporting cyber operations run by North Korea’s Reconnaissance General Bureau. Park was also found to have worked for the firm in Dalian, in China’s Liaoning province.The FBI’s wanted notice lists his photograph along with aliases, year of birth and languages spoken.Park is described as a man with black hair and brown eyes who speaks English and Chinese in addition to Korean. His year of birth is recorded as either 1981 or 1984, and he is also known to have used the name Park Kwang-jin.After his photograph circulated online, some social media users remarked that his looks were wasted on a hacker.First Arrest Warrant Issued in 2018; Pyongyang Calls Him a FictionThe first U.S. federal arrest warrant for Park was issued on June 8, 2018. Another warrant followed in December 2020 on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and computer intrusion.The FBI said he was born in North Korea and has traveled to China in the past. His last known location is North Korea, though his precise whereabouts remain unconfirmed.North Korea has denied the findings of the U.S. investigation. In 2018, a North Korean Foreign Ministry official called Park “a person who does not even exist” and condemned the U.S. indictment.Pyongyang has also flatly denied any involvement in the recent Binance breach.Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, pushed back on the 3rd, saying the U.S. was forcing a connection between North Korea and cybercrime occurring around the world.U.S. investigators believe North Korean hacking groups are attempting to launder the stolen cryptocurrency, including by converting it into other digital currencies. The FBI said it is tracking the movement of the funds and has asked private crypto firms to block suspicious transactions.
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