{"id":22848,"date":"2022-07-21T05:26:30","date_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/?p=22848"},"modified":"2022-07-21T05:26:30","modified_gmt":"2022-07-21T09:26:30","slug":"us-seizes-stolen-funds-from-suspected-north-korean-hackers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldjusticenews.com\/news\/2022\/07\/21\/us-seizes-stolen-funds-from-suspected-north-korean-hackers\/","title":{"rendered":"US seizes stolen funds from suspected North Korean hackers"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The US Department of Justice has seized $500,000 (\u00a3417,000) worth of Bitcoin from suspected North Korean hackers.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The hackers attacked healthcare providers with a new strain of ransomware, extorting the funds from several organisations.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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US authorities\u00a0say they have already returned<\/a>\u00a0ransom payments to two hospital groups.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The rare successful seizure comes as US authorities warn that North Korea is becoming a major ransomware threat.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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In a conference on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Lisa O. Monaco praised an unnamed Kansas hospital for alerting the FBI early about the ransomware attack.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Not only did this allow us to recover their ransom payment as well as a ransom paid by previously unknown victims, but we were also able to identify a previously unidentified ransomware strain,” she said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Hackers targeted hospital<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
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According to court documents, hackers used the ransomware strain called Maui to encrypt the files and servers of a medical centre in Kansas in May 2021.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Typically, ransomware hackers will use malicious software to scramble data or lock users out of the system until a ransom is paid.<\/p>\n

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The Kansas hospital spent a week not being able to access its IT systems, then decided to pay approximately $100,000 in Bitcoin to regain the use of its computers and equipment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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It is not illegal to pay hacker ransoms, but it is discouraged by law enforcement organisations around the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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