North Korea has denied allegations that it was behind the hack of cryptocurrency exchange Binance, in which $6.3bn (£4.7bn) was reportedly stolen. Kim Yo Jong, a senior North Korean official and sister of leader Kim Jong Un, described the claims as “absurd rhetoric” and accused the United States of attempting to damage the country’s reputation.
The US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Secret Service and cyber analysts said North Korea orchestrated the attack, described as the largest hack in history.
The incident is the latest cyberattack linked to North Korea, which has been accused of using cybercrime to help finance its sanctioned economy.
North Korea rejects Binance hack allegations
Kim Yo Jong said on Tuesday that the accusations represented another “evil attempt” by the United States to tarnish North Korea’s public image.
“The United States has once again carried out a routine provocation to link North Korea with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Kim Yo Jong, the country’s director-general of internal affairs, said in a statement.
“For the United States to mislead international public opinion as if all cybercrime around the world is the work of the United States is a serious political provocation against North Korea,” the statement said.
TraderTraitor linked to the attack
Blockchain analysts and the FBI said the attack was led by TraderTraitor, a state-sponsored hacker group.
The FBI called on industry partners to help block transactions involving cryptocurrency accounts linked to the group.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk