A crypto exchange operator and a South Korean army captain have been apprehended on suspicion of transmitting military secrets to North Korea.
According to many sources, the CEO of a cryptocurrency exchange has been arrested in South Korea for allegedly passing military secrets to North Korea.
According to AFP, the CEO is one of two people arrested and charged with violating national security law.
The 38-year-old, identified only as Lee, is described as a businessman who runs a virtual asset management organization; the second person arrested is a 29-year-old active army captain.
According to South Korean authorities, the two were paid in cryptocurrency at the request of a North Korean agent.
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Authorities determined the agent was from North Korea based on statements obtained from the two arrested individuals; the army captain allegedly provided the suspected North Korean agent with login information for South Korea’s Joint Command & Control System, a military internal communications network.
The army officer was apprehended on April 15, while the crypto executive was apprehended on April 2.
According to the BBC, the agent allegedly paid Lee $600,000 and the army captain $38,000 in cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.
This is the first time a civilian and active-duty military captain [has been] discovered attempting to collect military secrets in South Korea.
Authorities claim Lee was approached in July 2021 with the request to “find an active-duty officer to probe military secrets.
To that goal, he purchased a watch with a hidden camera and gave it to the army captain.
The executive allegedly also developed a Poison Tap hacking device to gain access to the Joint Command and Control system. A Poison Tap can unlock any computer when plugged in.
According to reports, the army captain provided the North Korean spy with login information for the same communications network.
Authorities announced that the leak had been stopped following the arrest of these two people.
North Korea and crypto
This isn’t the first time North Korea has been linked to high-profile hacking attempts in another country.
According to a February UN assessment, the Hermit Kingdom financed its nuclear weapons program in part with cryptocurrency obtained through hacks.
“According to a member state, DPRK cybercriminals stole more than $50 million from at least three cryptocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe, and Asia between 2020 and mid-2021,” the report claimed.
More recently, the US government blamed the North Korean hacker organization, Lazarus, for stealing $622 million from the popular crypto game Axie Infinity.
The address has been added to the Treasury Department’s sanctions list.
