Two hacking incidents in the two years of the year 2014 and 2016 shook the whole world. One of them was in Sony Pictures of Hollywood and the other was in the Central Bank of Bangladesh itself. Although these two incidents seem to be separate incidents, these two incidents have one thing in common. The master behind both incidents is the same. Lazarus is a North Korean cybercrime slash hacking group. First let's see what happened in Bangladesh Bank that day.
On February 5, 2016, a group of cyber criminals chose that cold winter morning in Konkan to rob the central bank of a developing country like Bangladesh. The day was a weekend. Eight million ten million dollars disappeared from the reserve of Bangladesh Central Bank. What are you thinking? Did they enter the bank with a gun to steal money like in the movie The Dark Knight? Or Robardy walking into a bank with a dull thong like in a hit movie was not like that at all.
How this one of the biggest cyber heists of all time happened will make your head spin. The root cause of this incident is said to be a faulty printer. The printer was installed inside a highly secured room at the head office of Bangladesh Bank and very few people had access to this filter.
Because all important was connecting it to the computer. On the day of the incident, the printer was acting erratically from eight forty-five minutes. The printer used to cause such problems due to its easy-going nature. Everyone, including the duty manager Huda Sahib, did not pay much attention to the matter. But care was needed. Huda Sahib and his half-time employees thought that the printer would be busy tomorrow.
Bangladesh Bank officials were not interested but the hackers were not sitting at all. In fact, through this printer, hackers entered the computer networking system of Bangladesh Bank. This resulted in the boldest cyber attack ever. Although the Lazarus group could not move the money according to their target, their goal was to steal at least one billion dollars or one billion dollars.
As part of this plan, they sent fake emails around 2015 to enter Bangladesh Bank's network. The United States intelligence agency FBI said in the investigation. Some officials of Bangladesh Bank received a mail asking for a job from an account named Russell Ahlam. In that mail of his humble invitation, the download of CB and cover letter is requested. At least one of the bank officials fell into this trap. Respond to the request and download.
The email virus entered his computer. Once inside the bank's system, the Lazarus group secretly spread from one computer to another. They started working seamlessly with all the reserve information starting from digital faults. In fact, no one named Russell existed. The Lazarus Group members used this name to easily fool the bank officials. It is not only Bangladesh Bank that they managed to endanger.
Two thousand and fourteen years. The incident happened the day before Thanksgiving. Sony Pictures employees were trying to login to their computers. Just then, a red skeleton image appeared on their computer screen with the text "your computer has hacked by jiop". It means Lazarus group was attacking here under the name of JOP or guardian of peace. Hackers stole a huge amount of information from the Sony network at this time. The information included the personal information of Sony Pictures employees and their families, employees' emails, company salary information, copies of unreleased Sony films, future plans of Sony Films, film scripts and much more. The question may arise why the Lazarus group went to cyber attack Hollywood's Sony picture from the bank? Hidden deep within this question is the true nature of the Lazarus Group.
The attack was carried out in retaliation for the making of the movie The Interview, which portrayed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in a silly way. What a great adventure, Sony Pictures. They joke about Kim Jong Un. The Lazarus Group is not just an ordinary hacker group. Behind it is the covert support of North Korea itself. The rest of the matter will be more clear.
Security in the cyber world has become one of the most controversial areas in recent years. Increasing technology and latest devices have become the companion of people. Companies have stepped up to protect them. But no one can guarantee 100% security yet. Neither Google nor Apple, Microsoft or other tech companies. As a result, cyber attacks are becoming more frequent and stronger. And North Korea is advancing like a storm in this field.
North Korea's currency has steadily depreciated over the past few decades due to famine sanctions and failed economic policies. It is said that now the economy of North Korea is alive because of this Lazarus group. The mysterious Lazarus Group, sometimes known as Dark Seoul, Gardens of Peace and Hidden Cobra, is behind some of the most successful and destructive computer attacks in recent years. The Bible mentions a man named Lazarus who came back from the dead. Hackers have chosen such a name for themselves. What comes in the name. The work of the Lazarus group is the real thing.
The UK's National Cyber Security Centre, the NSA and the FBI have put the group at the top of their national security threat list. Understand exactly how much Lazarus owes. It has not yet been conclusively proven that the Lazarus Group operates directly at North Korea's financial aid and begging, but experts are very confident that the group is doing so with the support of the North Korean government. The US government has always said it has strong evidence that North Korea is behind the Lazarus group. However, the evidence that the FBI has so far revealed about Lazarus is very weak. So weak that even US security experts have criticized them.
In response, the US National Security Agency stated that despite having substantial evidence about the Lazarus Group, it could not be released for security reasons. Because the Lazes Group's attack is not only limited to the American film industry but may have far-reaching consequences for the American foreign policy war and even the future. Hearing the words, flowers are floating in the eyes. Where the use of personal computers is strictly prohibited and the Internet does not officially exist. Can such a country be so good at hacking? The answer is yes, North Korea is really very expert in hacking.
Sometimes it is said that they are ahead of Russia in this regard. Politically isolated from the rest of the world and facing multiple sanctions, North Korea's economy has long been in dire straits.
In such a situation, they are using cybercrime as one of the ways to boost their economy. Also the North Korean government's national ambitions such as the development of missiles and nuclear weapons need a lot of money. But that huge amount of money is coming from this sector.
As the world becomes more and more connected to the Internet, the door to cybercrime opens up every day
The FBI said the North Collier hackers have been planning for years. They have a plan to embezzle money by breaking the network system all over the world with group preparations. The Lazarus Group's first attack was known as Operation Flim. It was conducted in the year two thousand seven. The attack used first-generation malware against the South Korean government. An attack called Operation Kari was then conducted which took place between 2009 and 2012. But the attack on Sony Pictures in 2014 brought the group to the center of international discussion.
Since then Lazarus Group's work services continue to grow. In 2015 Lazhar's scroop began attacking banks worldwide, including in Ecuador and Vietnam. The group also tried to attack banks in Poland, Chile and Mexico. In 2016, the Lazarus group's bank-centric attacks became more efficient, resulting in the success of stealing the reserves of the central bank of Bangladesh. Now Lazarus Group's only target is furious currency attack.
In May 2017, the group hijacked hundreds of thousands of computers through a virus called One A Cry. One Cry is a great example of Krypton War. One Cry virus enters the computer and encrypts the important files of the computer so that those files cannot be used anymore. One A Cry holds data hostage. They will return the files only if you pay them the ransom. Payment has to be made with Bitcoin or digital currency or the files will be lost forever within months of the attack. More than 200,000 computers in approximately 150 countries were affected. The estimated damage was more than four billion dollars. Although the inner information of the mysterious Lazarus group is not much known. However, the FBI found a suspect named Perzin Yoke. Perzin Yoke introduced himself as a computer programmer. He worked in the Chinese port city of Dalian, a company in North Fulia, Exploitation Expo. This company creates online gaming and gambling programs for their clients all over the world. While in Dalian, he created a resume by creating an email address. But Park didn't become a hacker overnight. He is one of thousands of young people in North Korea. Who was prepared to become a cyber warrior since childhood. A gifted math major, Bidra brought him from school at the age of twelve to Seoul, where he was given intensive morning-to-night training, the same way North Korea's future cyber warriors are still trained.
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