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North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

economist.com

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Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#161

Post by dbmikus »

crazygringo wrote: post #68
anonymousDan wrote: post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why 'generally'? Why can't crypto systems be designed to be more secure than other software given what is at stake (e.g. by making the effort to formally verify systems/applications). Not saying it will happen but don't see why it is impossible.

Because ultimately it all comes down to the security of your keys. Which are just information. Keeping keys secure is no different from keeping anything else secure. That's why 'generally'. And crypto doesn't do anything about key security. That's up to each person/org to figure out for themselves. (North Korea didn't hack the blockchain. They hacked however people/orgs kept their keys.)

There's a fair amount of work on key security, such as via multi-party computation, Shamir's secret sharing, etc. These let multiple parties combine to give access to a key. Some cool stuff here are companies like https://web3auth.io/ and https://magic.link/.

This stuff is useful outside of blockchain as well.

The state of user protection in crypto right now is definitely bad, but there is a lot of work and research being done to improve it.

EDIT: I think I'm actually making the same point you made, but anyways here's a couple cool links and things to google for secret security :)

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#162

Post by breck »

zwkrt wrote: post #110
ourmandave wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The NSA called, they want their 0-day exploits back.

It's not that they don't exist, but the easiest way to gain access to a computer system is always going to be to ask for the password. https://xkcd.com/538/

In 2011 I spent hours writing a script to brute force a wifi password at a hotel because I didn't want to pay $5 a day for wifi. It worked. I was pleased with myself.

When I checked out they gave me a receipt and I went to throw it away and saw a handful of wifi passwords in the trash bin.

Lesson learned.

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#163

Post by woah »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #32

"mixers—large digital pools where crypto owners can deposit funds to obscure their origins." I have a quibble with articles about cryptocurrency fraud. They always get around to mixers and then they define it as if it were some relatively legitimate thing, like an odd bank. "large digital pools", "deposit funds". You have to get to the last phrase ("obscure their origins") to understand what mixers really are. A prop…

Why don’t you post your credit card statement below if you have nothing to hide since you’re not a criminal?

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#164

Post by Hyption »

barnabee wrote: post #130
NelsonMinar wrote: post #32

"mixers—large digital pools where crypto owners can deposit funds to obscure their origins." I have a quibble with articles about cryptocurrency fraud. They always get around to mixers and then they define it as if it were some relatively legitimate thing, like an odd bank. "large digital pools", "deposit funds". You have to get to the last phrase ("obscure their origins") to understand what mixers really are. A prop…

Ideally we would have a world where privacy is the default and everyone has it. Because we don’t, and there is considerable friction required to have financial privacy, most people don’t bother unless they really need it or are unusually privacy conscious. Really needing it may often mean they are doing something nefarious. That doesn’t mean the technology to enable privacy is “bad”, it means it’s too hard to use and…

I'm overall not for financial privacy.

Unfortunately I'm a normal person with my primary/only income being my salary.

I benefit from this 100 times more than not.

I can't and won't do tax evasion. The rich and bad do.

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#165

Post by dontlaugh »

MarcellusDrum wrote: post #160
sandworm101 wrote: post #151

I care less about how much they stole than about how much they sold . Crypto is all well and good, but how they sell it for cash or products to avoid sanctions should be the lead story. Stealing crypto hurts crypto investors . Avoidance of international sanctions hurts innocent people , mostly poor people living under an oppressively regime who have no connection to crypto.

International sanctions hurts innocent people. Who do you think is suffering more from the sanctions, Assad or the poor Syrians?

Exactly. Evading sanctions saves innocent lives.

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#166

Post by neilv »

NelsonMinar wrote: post #32

"mixers—large digital pools where crypto owners can deposit funds to obscure their origins." I have a quibble with articles about cryptocurrency fraud. They always get around to mixers and then they define it as if it were some relatively legitimate thing, like an odd bank. "large digital pools", "deposit funds". You have to get to the last phrase ("obscure their origins") to understand what mixers really are. A prop…

"Mixers" of various kinds (even before cryptocurrency) used to seem a legitimate, if nerdy, idea for privacy.

One of the more recent difficulties with a lot of privacy technology is that the main user might not be the abused and those wanting to avoid being abused, but instead... really awful criminals.

And with anything cryptocurrency or blockchain in the last decade, it's not only the users who are criminals, but much of the technology itself is built by scamming atop scamming.

I'd quibble with any article today that mentions cryptocurrency/blockchain at all without acknowledging how sketchy the entire space is.

Pre-Web cynical cyberpunk writers were better at predicting much of the modern world, than were the optimistic techies who mostly saw tremendous opportunity for goodness.

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#167

Post by mrfumier »

supernova87a wrote: post #157

I wonder how big the pressure/temptation is for a North Korean, hacking for the state (presumably), to escape with a couple hundred coins and defect? I'm sure the repercussions / penalties must be huge, but then so are the amounts they must be seeing day by day, compared to average standard of living in N. Korea. Or maybe this is a cadre of military / public conscripted workers who regard this hacking as a patriotic…

What makes you think a North Korean would like to escape ? They are all brainwashed to think they live in the best country in the world. We have testimony of North Korean even thinking the great leader could read their mind.

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#169

Post by wpietri »

eterps wrote: post #108
wpietri wrote: post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If 99% of Tor's volume is helping laundering international drug trade money, distributing CSAM, etc, should it be demonized as well? Easy answer: Yes! Although I think it would be hard to call it demonizing when something is already 99% demons.

Should any tech that conceals IP addresses be demonized? Or just Tor?

Obviously you know that "demonized" is a loaded word here. What's your point in using it?

All I'm saying is that if there's something where "99% of [...] volume is helping laundering international drug trade money, distributing CSAM" that that is obviously terrible for the world and we should be asking some strong questions about who's supporting it and why. Is somebody gaining something that's more important than the lives forever ruined?

Re: North Korean hackers stole a record $1.7B of crypto last year

#170

Post by csomar »

chollida1 wrote: post #117
csomar wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funny thing is, you can barely launder any tangible amount of money with Bitcoin let alone crypto.

> Funny thing is, you can barely launder any tangible amount of money with Bitcoin let alone crypto. https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/10/crypto-criminals-laundered-5... Is $540M considered a tangible amount? I'll let you quibble over that but I'd think most criminals would be more than happy to be able to launder $540M.

That's mixing or "anonymizing" your crpyto proceeds. To make use of this crypto, you need to convert it to the relevant currency of the country you are in. If you are based in the USA, your only option is the few regulated exchanges which will ask "lots" of questions for this amount of money. It doesn't stop there, you'll have to answer lots of questions for the banks too as you'll withdraw this money eventually.

If you made it this far, then you start the laundering process.

You can't launder money with Bitcoin because Bitcoin is not well integrated with any country financial devices in any meaningful manner.

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