"More Dangerous Than Kimsuky... South Korean Exchanges Also a Target"

[Anchor]

We conducted an exclusive interview with the U.S. analytics firm that was the first to point to North Korea as the culprit behind the theft of 8.4 trillion won worth of virtual assets from Binance. They warned that "TraderTraitor," the hacking group that orchestrated this cyberattack, is North Korea's most dangerous hacking organization, and South Korea could be next in line.

Reporter Hong Yeongjae has the story.

[Reporter]

U.S. analytics firm TRM Labs pinpointed North Korea as the perpetrator just six hours after the Binance hack.

The North Korea expert investigator who led the analysis agreed to a video interview with SBS.

Investigator Nick Carlson, who spent 12 years working at the FBI, stated that "TraderTraitor," the group responsible for this incident, is the most dangerous hacking organization in North Korea.

[Nick Carlson / North Korea Expert Investigator at TRM Labs: "TraderTraitor" is North Korea's elite hacking organization. (Are they more dangerous than Kimsuky or other groups within Lazarus?) Absolutely. They sit at the top of the pyramid and are by far the most dangerous hacking unit. They have carried out some of the most daring financial asset thefts.]

Because North Korean hacking groups do not have to worry about being arrested, they left behind several of their own distinct signatures in this operation as well, the firm analyzed.

[Nick Carlson / North Korea Expert Investigator at TRM Labs: Basically, they conducted several test transactions for the hack. Furthermore, we identified much older activities linked to these transactions. The traces date back to 2020.]

He also mentioned that while they possess additional concrete evidence, it is difficult to disclose more because it could allow North Korea to evade detection.

[Nick Carlson / North Korea Expert Investigator at TRM Labs: We have secured multiple pieces of evidence confirming that "TraderTraitor" carried out this hack. However, I don't want to go into too much detail because I don't want to teach North Korean hackers how to evade detection.]

At the same time, he warned that South Korean exchanges could be the next targets of attack.

[Nick Carlson / North Korea Expert Investigator at TRM Labs: Every exchange can be a target, but I think South Korean exchanges in particular are major targets.]

Investigator Carlson added that unless South Korea, the United States, and Japan step up with more proactive countermeasures, the problem will continue to grow.

(Photo: Yonhap News)

Reported by Lee Chan-su | Video by Seeun Shin | VJ: Lee Ji-hwan

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