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FBI warns North Korean hackers looking to cash out stolen cryptocurrency worth millions

August 25, 2023/in Computer Security

The FBI is warning cryptocurrency companies to be on the lookout for North Korean cyber thieves cashing out stolen bitcoin valued in the tens of millions of dollars.

North Korean hackers use cybertheft to circumvent sanctions and fund their regime, with the White House estimating that half of North Korea’s missile program is funded via cryptocurrency heists and cyberattacks.

The FBI published an alert this week saying North Korean hackers who were responsible for stealing nearly $200 million worth of cryptocurrency in June want to convert digital money into real funds. The bureau published identifiers of the bitcoin for companies to watch for in a warning Tuesday.

“Over the last 24 hours, the FBI tracked cryptocurrency stolen by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea TraderTraitor-affiliated actors (also known as Lazarus Group and APT38),” the FBI said in the warning. “The FBI believes the DPRK may attempt to cash out the bitcoin worth more than $40…

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Dallas pays millions for ransomware expenses after May attack – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

August 10, 2023/in Internet Security

The Dallas City Council Wednesday agreed to pay $8.5 million for expenses related to the ransomware attack first revealed in May.

Officials have declined to say publicly if any ransom is included in the expenses so far. And, it is unclear just how many residents may be impacted by leaked city data.

Officials did confirm Wednesday that 27,000 city employees, retirees and their dependents have received notices that their social security and medical information was accessed.

Dallas Firefighters Association President Jim McDade said he received a letter for himself but also one for his son.

“My son is 10. Now I have to worry for the next however long that something is going to be done with his information,” McDade said.

Southern Methodist University Cyber Security Expert Mitch Thornton said that worry is justified.

“I do see his concern and agree with it,” Thornton said.

Cybercriminals may demand ransom from targets like the city of Dallas to restore hacked operations but they may also profit by financial fraud with the data they steal.

“They can use it themselves to try and open credit lines. Or typically they would post this information or the availability of it on the dark web and then sell it to other criminals,” Thornton said.

In May, the city struggled to get crucial operations like emergency dispatch working again. City courts and many other functions were crippled.

Details were left unclear about the $8.5 million approved Wednesday except for a general description of expenses for software, hardware, forensics experts and two years of credit monitoring for people now getting those letters.

There may be more people connected to the leaked city-data.

“Or even, general residents of the city. What message should we be sharing with them,” Councilmember Jaynie Schultz said.

The one official providing answers in public Wednesday was Assistant City Manager John Fortune.

“So I would just say, this is still an ongoing investigation. We’re still evaluating the magnitude of those individuals who might have been impacted,” Fortune said.

The council went to a closed-door executive session to discuss additional issues regarding the…

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Dallas police crime data back online – NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

July 26, 2023/in Internet Security

Dallas Police crime numbers are back online for the first time since a ransomware attack crippled city computers in May. The numbers show homicide is up 10% so far this year with 150 reported as of Wednesday morning.

But that’s less than the 20% homicide was up in May. And overall, Dallas’s violent crime keeps falling according to the new report.

But some families still face grief.

People who loved her are mourning the July 20 death of 22-year-old Lusero Guzman.

One of her closest friends, Marisol, who did not want her last name used, said she was on the phone with Lusero during one of many fights with Lusero’s boyfriend, who was also the father of her children.

“And the next call I received, it was her phone but his voice saying I shot her. And she’s dead. And I was in shock,” Marisol said.

Police charged 29-year-old Eric Thomas with the murder.

“It’s just hard, hard to lose someone like that, especially so young, and her kids so young,” Marisol said.

The most recent Dallas homicide was around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night on East Illinois Avenue.

A man with a gunshot wound was taken to a hospital where he died. The victim’s name was not available Wednesday as police looked for the shooter.

Dallas City Council Member Cara Mendelsohn serves on committees that deal with city information technology and with police.

“We still have a lot of shootings so even though those numbers are down, they need to go down further,” Mendelsohn said.

Police officials said reports that stacked up since the ransomware attack have not been entered to produce the updated data.

On May 16th, Chief Eddie Garcia warned that the lack of current data hurt crime fighting.

“To be honest with you it’s problematic. It’s severely impacting our ability to plan for what we’re trying to do. So, we’re going off historical data,” Garcia said.

Now the report shows overall violent crime is down 11% on top of reductions last year. It suggests police had success without the constant flow of data.

Mendelsohn said citizens also appreciate the data.

“It’s always nice when you show a report where crime is way down so I think we’re all happy to see…

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