일년전만 해도 한개에 $1,000 달러에 거래되던 "빅코인"이 지난주에는 $17,000 달러를 기록하여 사상최대의 호황을 누렸었다. 문제는 인터넷상으로만 거래되는 "가상화폐"는 각나라의 정부나 중앙은행의 통제를 받지 않는다는 점이다. 어제는 미국의 시카고의 한 금융기관에서 공식적으로 거래를 시작한다는 뉴스까지 있었다.
금융전문인들의 걱정은, 북한의 컴퓨터 핵킹의 일등국가로 낙인찍힌지 오래이며, 그들은 이미 세계 각금융기관을 핵킹하여, 많은 돈을 훔쳐간 기록들이 있다는데 전세계가 이를 제재할 방법을 찾지 못하고, 전전긍긍하고 있다는 문제점을, 한국의 금융감독위원회의 "이동근"씨가 지적하고 나선 것이다.
그의 설명에 따르면, "북한이 얼마나 많은 돈을 훔져 갔는지 아무도 알지 못하고 있다는 점이며, 다만 알고있는 내용은, 한국의 경찰이 북한의 김정일과 Regime이 여러번 핵킹할려고 했던 정황을 포착한것 뿐이다"라고.
NiceHash CEO, Marko Kobal의 비디오 기자회견을 보면, 어제밤 새벽 1시경에 한명의 핵커 또는 한구룹의 핵커들이 우리의 컴퓨터를 뚫고 들어와 협상을 요구했는데, 자신들은 가상화페를 취급하는 가장 큰 Marketplace라고 밝혔다는 것이다. Kobal은 바로 콤퓨터 운영체계를 최소한 24시간 정지시켰는데, 이시간 현재 도복구하는중인데 언제 완전히 정상가동될지는 모른다고 설명했다. 대략 4,700개의 Bit Coin을 도난 당했는데, $75백만 달러 상당이라고 그는 설명한다.
미국을 비롯한 전세계가 북한으로 흘러가는 돈줄을 조이기위해 안간힘을 쓰고 있는 이때에, 북한은 그들의 핵무기개발 자금을 염출하는데, 이러한 제재를 받지않는 북한의 외화벌이로 인터넷상에서 떠돌아 다니는 Bit Coin을 운영하는 어카운트를 핵킹하여 돈을 빼가는 호기(?)를 만난 것이다( cut the country out of the international financial system)
Bit Coin의 추이를 관망하는 사람들은 요즘 천정부지로 오르는 상황을 자축할 정도로 들떠 있지만, 같은 시각에 북한의 김정은 Regime 역시 이러한 횡재를 즐기고 있는 것이다.
아래 기사를 보면서 자세한 내용을 알아보는것도 많은 참고가 될것이다.
Speculators aren't the only ones cheering the runaway bitcoin boom -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un may also be celebrating a windfall.
In recent months, experts and officials say North Korea has been "mining" bitcoin, demanding it as ransom payment and outright stealing the digital currency.
"It is a fact that North Korea has been attacking virtual currency exchanges," said Lee Dong-geun, a director with South Korea's state-run Korea Internet and Security Agency. "We don't know how much North Korea has stolen so far, but we do know that the police have confirmed the regime's hacking attempts."
North Korean hackers targeted four different exchanges that trade bitcoin and other digital currencies in South Korea in July and August, sending malicious emails to employees, according to police.
Bitcoin is a type of cryptocurrency that lives on computer servers. The virtual coins are "mined" by complex algorithms and recorded in a digital ledger.
Experts say it's unclear how much bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies North Korea has amassed.
"It's reasonable to assume some -- and the value is increasing significantly at the moment," said Bryce Boland, Singapore-based chief technology officer with cybersecurity firm FireEye.
Experts say the attacks are likely to continue as bitcoin's price skyrockets. It started the year below $1,000 but has soared more than 1,500%, crossing $17,000 for the first time last week.
It's not just bitcoin's dizzying gains that make it appealing to North Korea.
The digital currency was designed to operate outside of the control of governments or banks. That's likely to appeal to North Korea at a time when the U.S. is stepping up efforts to cut the country out of the international financial system over its nuclear weapons program.
It has also proved popular in the past with criminals because of the amount of anonymity it allows. Bitcoin isn't tied to any central bank, and payments can be made anonymously without using banks as middlemen.
That could help North Korea convert its stash into money it can more easily use.
Bitcoins are often held in accounts with online exchanges. But Boland points out that hackers can easily swap them into more obscure cryptocurrencies, move them to other exchanges and eventually withdraw them in traditional currencies like dollars.
"They could do those transactions very quickly ... and avoid traceability of the cash," Boland said.
North Korea has repeatedly denied involvement in international hacking attacks. But it has made no secret of its interest in bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Last month, the Pyongyang University of Science and Technology touted a lecture from a bitcoin expert who came to North Korea to teach students about the technology behind the digital currency. The university is a high-profile institution where scions of the North Korean elite study.
"Many excellent technical questions were asked about the inner working of bitcoin, its risks, and the measures taken to ensure security," the university said.
Boland said FireEye believes North Korea is "developing a significant number of people who understand bitcoin so they can expand their operations."
That's likely to mean more attacks on exchanges and other cryptocurrency targets.
-- Taehoon Lee contributed to this report.
http://money.cnn.com/2017/12/12/technol
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