Rim, who was charged with conspiracy and conspiracy to launder cash, continues to be in North Korea, senior legislation enforcement officers mentioned — which means he’s unlikely to be arrested anytime quickly. U.S. officers have provided a $10 million reward for info resulting in his seize.
Officers say the Rim case is simply the newest instance of a form of hybrid crime mannequin that North Korea makes use of to interact in espionage — conducting for-profit cyberattacks and utilizing the cash from these crimes to fund additional hacking and knowledge thefts from delicate targets that would assist North Korea’s army and nuclear ambitions.
Within the ransomware scheme, Rim allegedly encrypted recordsdata on the computer systems of a Kansas hospital, amongst different companies, after which demanded massive funds so the organizations might regain management of their recordsdata.
That ransom cash, in flip, “funded the Conspirators’ pc intrusions into authorities businesses, army bases, and firms supporting the army, together with with missile, aerospace, and uranium processing know-how,” an indictment filed Wednesday in Kansas prices.
In February 2022, Rim and his co-conspirators had been capable of acquire and retain entry “for greater than three months to NASA’s pc system, particularly the portal for its Workplace of Inspector Normal, and extracted over seventeen gigabytes of unclassified knowledge,” based on the indictment.
U.S. authorities allege that Rim and his associates additionally hacked into Randolph Air Drive Base in Texas, Robins Air Drive Base in Georgia, and protection corporations in the USA and South Korea.
U.S. officers mentioned they’ve seized dozens of accounts used within the alleged scheme, which collectively held greater than $600,000 in digital forex. That cash will likely be returned to victims, legislation enforcement officers mentioned.
