North Korea blames US for plotting 'anti-DPRK racket' after crypto-related embargo: Report

In its latest attack on the United States, the North Korean government has accused the Biden administration of orchestrating an "anti-DPRK racket" by distorting the scale of the country’s cyber operations. This comes after the US sanctioned a cryptocurrency exchange that aided Pyongyang in skimming millions of dollars. North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) researcher made the remarks after the US slapped additional restrictions on Blender, a virtual currency mixer. The platform, according to the US, allowed DPRK cybercriminals to blend illicit virtual currency with anonymous virtual currency to aid money laundering. 

"Recently, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Treasury Department made public what is called a ‘joint alert’ warning against the ‘cyber threat’ from the DPRK,” the researcher Park Song Il said in a statement, NK News reported. Park accused the US of exploiting its "hegemonic dominance in the IT industry to commit espionage acts against other countries on a systematic basis." He also mentioned the controversial personal data collecting initiatives by US spy agencies that were revealed in the 2010s by former government contractor Edward Snowden. 

US orchestrated DDoS attacks against North Korea, researcher claims

Park also claimed that the US was behind Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) strikes against North Korea earlier this year. In February, a hacker using the moniker P4x claimed responsibility for the attacks, presumably in revenge for a  Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) cyber effort targeting Western security researchers. "Nevertheless, the US does not say a single word about the illegal hacking by [P4x]. Instead, it is hell-bent on picking on the nonexistent ‘cyber issue’ of other countries,” the researcher added.

US intends to tarnish the DPRK's image and incite international sanctions: North Korean researcher

Park further claimed that the US intends to degrade the DPRK's image and incite international sanctions and pressure against it. Meanwhile, researchers from blockchain research firm Chainalysis accuse North Korea of misappropriating about $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021 - a 40% rise over the previous year. According to Chainalysis, North Korean hackers are frequently using cryptocurrency mixers making blockchain transactions tougher to monitor, NK News reported. 

Image: AP