North Korea‘s internet usage has surged by 300 per cent in the last three years, despite stringent international sanctions put in place by the West.
The majority of North Koreans have either no internet access or are only able to see a limited state-run version of the web, with only the elite able to surf the global net.
Now a new report studying the internet usage of these North Korean leaders throughout 2019 claims Kim Jong-un is presiding over ‘a nation run like a criminal syndicate’.
The findings of the report build on previous studies spanning back to 2017 and identify a dramatic shift in how the internet is being utilised in the country.
What was once a mere curiosity used merely by the elite to download films, shop and browse the web has become a key tool in sustaining the country’s economy.
It is believed this increase in usage is why North Korea’s economy is surviving, and in some sectors thriving, despite the US and its allies cutting off oil supplies.
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Donald Trump promised in 2017 ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ against the secretive country following reports North Korea had developed a nuclear weapon and contemplating firing it on the US territory of Guam. But North Korea is using the internet to sustain its economy (file photo)
Although the technology is not as sophisticated as that employed by the US National Security Agency (NSA), it is rapidly developing.
One of the main things believed to be propping up the North Korean government, is the mining of cryptocurrency Monera and using a VPN to covertly send and receive money.
And the report finds growing cybercrime expertise has allowed North Korea to develop an internet-based model for circumventing financial controls and sanctions.
North Korea has created a three-pronged model that manipulates the internet for illicit financial gain.
Internet-enabled bank theft, gaining information on nuclear programmes and cyberoperations while simultaneously covering its tracks, and using the internet for day-to-day operations of the government are all providing revenue, the report found.
This model is unique to North Korea, the report claims claims, but is ‘easily repeatable’.
It could, the authors of the study claim, become a template for ‘other financially isolated nations, such as Venezuela, Iran, or Syria’ to circumvent sanctions via the internet.
Donald Trump promised in 2017 ‘fire and fury like the world has never seen’ against the secretive country, following reports North Korea had developed a nuclear weapon and was contemplating firing it on the US territory of Guam.
Since then, incredibly forceful sanctions have been put in place against the nation.
But these appear to have only fuelled North Korea’s innovative ways to avoid the sanctions.
The three-headed monster that is North Korea’s cyber programme has two major benefits, revenue generation and gaining prohibited skills and knowledge.
It has blossomed due to increased investments in its workers and its infrastructure, including the Russian-routed TransTelekom system which now accounts for around half of the county’s traffic.
This works alongside the Chinese pipeline which was for a longtime the only source of internet in the county.
Recorded Future, a US-based group headed up by an ex-NSA analyst, writes in its report that this has been key in transforming the internet from a leisure activity into a tool for the government.
A report studying the internet usage of these North Korean leaders throughout 2019 claims Kim Jong-un (pictured, right) is presiding over ‘a nation run like a criminal syndicate’ as North Korea uses the web to mine cryptocurrency and a VPN to hide its transactions
Instead of the internet being used the most in late afternoons, evenings and weekends it is now used mostly in office hours.
They write: ‘We assess that when combined with the 300 per cent increase in volume of activity, the increased bandwidth and capacity provided by routing an additional /24 subnet through TransTelekom infrastructure, and the recent utilisation of some previously unresolved IP space, that the internet is no longer simply a fascination or leisure activity, but has become a critical tool for North Korean leaders.’
This change in just two years has seen North Korea become more sophisticated in its cyber capabilities.
North Korea has previously been involved in various significant cyber attacks.
In November 2014, it launched a cyberattack on Sony following outrage at the controversial film ‘The Interview’, in which Kim was the focal point for ridicule in a comedic plot.
North Korea also tried to brazenly steal nearly $1 billion from the Bangladesh central bank, and then other nations.
It also, perhaps most famously, launched the WannaCry ransomware attack, which which crippled the NHS’s systems for several days in 2017.
But since these attacks, North Korea has revolutionised its internet usage and is now focusing its efforts on avoiding sanctions designed to crush the country’s economy.
Using the cryptocurrency Monero to carry out online transactions allows it to hide sending and receiving addresses, as well as transacted amounts.
This is aided by the creation of its own virtual private network (VPN) which creates a secure tunnel through the internet for safe passing of information.
It has also improved its encryption techniques to protect its data.
And it has also been making use of students sent abroad, mainly to China and India, who learn how to exploit data that could improve its nuclear and missile programs, the New York Times reports.
