The U.S. State Department has announced a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the location or identity of Rim Jong Hyok, a North Korean hacker indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice.
Rim Jong Hyok and his accomplices have been accused of participating in ransomware attacks against U.S. hospitals and medical providers. They developed and used a custom ransomware called “Maui” to attack and encrypt the computer networks of multiple U.S. hospitals and medical institutions. The victims were then extorted to pay a ransom to unlock the data.
The hackers laundered the virtual currency proceeds from the ransomware attacks to fund other North Korean government cyberattacks. The Department of Justice and the FBI managed to recover approximately $114,000 in virtual currency proceeds from the interception of these ransomware attacks and related money laundering transactions.
In addition to the ransomware attacks, Rim Jong Hyok and his accomplices used these illicitly obtained funds to purchase network infrastructure. This infrastructure was then used to further hack defense, technology, and government entities around the world to steal sensitive information.
