Best Korea fingered for hacks against Bitcoin exchanges in South North Korea has emerged as the prime suspect in recent Bitcoin exchange hacks in South Korea, with threat intel experts warning that more attacks on digital currency services and even mainstream banks are likely to follow. South Korea's Cyber Warfare Research Center reportedly believes that at least one Bitcoin exchange was …
My problem with these reports is that there's never a way to independently validate those conclusions - I get suspicious if these things happen to tightly fit a political narrative.
Don't get me wrong, someone who is quite happy to risk an accident with a rocket flying over a country with as deep an ego problem as Trump probably won't find doing this challenging, but you'd think if they have the capability they also would do this a little bit more covert.
Unless it's again that ego thing?
My problem with these reports is that there's never a way to independently validate those conclusions - I get suspicious if these things happen to tightly fit a political narrative.
I agree that superficially it's a bit convenient to identify North Korea as the current Big Bad de-jour, (giving the Russians a rest for a bit). My first instinct is to question that.
But on the other hand, the narrative does fit, especially for the little-un's ego, that they would try and recoup some of the financial losses due to the sanctions currently imposed, and any backlash that NK might incur for the latest tomfoolery.
I'd rather have a leader with ego, deep balls and isn't afraid of action; rather than a wuss sitting back drawing lines and ignoring the weak / poor. I'd also rather be a citizen of the USA, than a citizen of a country who expects the USA to pay for the majority of everything as well as bail the country out during a crisis... again and again.
It's easy to be critical and cynical. You speak of others and their political narrative. Did you ever sit back and reread what you write; noticing how political your narrative is?
Oh dear, where does one begin. Well, the day's work has been done, so I'll entertain myself with answering instead of giving you the stiff ignoring you deserve. I'm not going to add links everywhere, I'm sure that even you must be able to use Google.
I'd rather have a leader with ego, deep balls and isn't afraid of action
Ah, you mean the kind of fearless leader who won't visit a country if there is a risk of protests? The kind of man who has to send others to fire people because he isn't man enough to do it face to face?
rather than a wuss sitting back drawing lines and ignoring the weak / poor
I presume you're talking about the weak and poor whose rights, benefits and healthcare are being eroded on an almost hourly basis? Heck, even if they're white?
I'd also rather be a citizen of the USA, than a citizen of a country who expects the USA to pay for the majority of everything as well as bail the country out during a crisis... again and again.
Weird, you're not by any chance talking about that nation that has an ever increasing national debt of $165k per taxpayer, are you? That is borrowing so fast to cover their overspending that they have to keep elevating their debt ceiling instead of actually paying back some of it? I wouldn't call spending more than you earn "paying", that's more borrowing less than you already owe. Oh, by the way, helping out in crisis that you have caused yourself (like 2 economic crisis and getting short "un" whipped up in a war of words because you don't have an idea what diplomacy looks like) doesn't count either.
It's easy to be critical and cynical.
I suspect it's even more annoying that the facts don't help you much..
You speak of others and their political narrative. Did you ever sit back and reread what you write; noticing how political your narrative is?
Yes, but I also possess the magic power of comprehensive reading. I know you must have immediately flown into a mouth foaming rage when you saw me mention the word "Trump", but if you held back before your spittle shorted your keyboard you would have noticed I was mainly referring to that OTHER egomaniac in N Korea. Your local idiot is at least partially restrained by others.
But hey, you give the impression you're a Trump supporter. That says it all, right there..
Lil Kim has to show he has got WMD and is prepared to use them. The USA has the same tactic. Getting rid of your WMD and proving it only invites cowardly bullies to set up a no fly zone so they can bomb you from the air. Whilst you have deadly weapons the bullies will keep their distance. This is why everywhere people are politely asked not to be armed. Much easier to bully someone if you have weapons and they don't.
Well, looks like it's not enough just to lob missiles at everyone around him, and threaten the universe with global thermonuclear war. Now he's gone and done the same *KIND* of thing, more or less, in the cyber universe as well.
That raving "Fat Boy Kim" needs a freaking cluebat at the earliest opportunity. Or a good spanking.
I mean, look at what he does to his own people. He stuffs his face and gets fat while everyone ELSE in N. Korea has to deal with starvation. He buys equipment for missile and nuclear bomb testing with their dwindling national funds, when he COULD be buying food for everyone [besides himself]. Not much of a "people's" republic if all they're doing over there is enabling this insane tin-horn man-child dictator to stuff his pig-face and scream the equivalent of "RESPECT MY AUTHORITAH" to the world, with all of that saber rattling and war threatening he's become so infamous for.
I suppose it was inevitable that some psychopathic lunatic like Kim Jong 'Fat-ass' Un would eventually engage in cyber warfare and steal bitcoins from around the world. No blaming the sanctions for it, either. It's just fat-ass Kim being greedy, and an asshat to the world, as usual.
[I understand that Baby Kimmy _REALLY_ hates it when people make fun of him, ESPECIALLY if it's about his weight. I hope he reads this and throws a gigantic TANTRUM. Come on, Kimmy-Boy, give US an excuse to deal with you _PROPERLY_]
Icon for obvious reasons
actually I live near some of the most important military bases on the west coast. A 'first strike' is most likely to come here.
And of course, I fart in Kim Jong 'Fat-ass' Un's general direction. heh.
Seriously, though, that guy is JUST! LIKE! CARTMAN! from South Park.
I mean, look at what he does to his own people. He stuffs his face and gets fat while everyone ELSE in N. Korea has to deal with starvation. He buys equipment for missile and nuclear bomb testing ..
Of course, the People's Democratic Republic of North Korea (cough) is not the only country in the world buying missiles and nukes while its citizens suffer from malnutrition, is it?
I am not trying to imply any sort of moral equivalency here - Kim is obviously a bad guy, and an average person clearly has much better chances of survival and a normal life in the US than in North Korea.
At the same time, this exaggerated moral outrage at other countries' affairs coming from over the pond really gets my goat. Especially when it is combined with a burning desire to "do something" - which invariably turns out to be something making the situation even worse than it was before.
"the People's Democratic Republic of North Korea (cough) is not the only country in the world buying missiles and nukes while its citizens suffer from malnutrition, is it?"
Do not confuse not-having-enough-to-stuff-in-your-pie-hole with having-enough-to-stuff-in-your-pie-hole-but-has-inadequate-nutritional-value-because-PROFITS.
Weakens your argument, you know...
Do not confuse not-having-enough-to-stuff-in-your-pie-hole with having-enough-to-stuff-in-your-pie-hole-but-has-inadequate-nutritional-value-because-PROFITS.
Weakens your argument, you know...
If you consider it more acceptable to harm others for profit than to harm them for a political gain, it does.
I find both actions abhorrent.
I reckon it was <Insert current disliked country>, I have no actual evidence but I reckon at some point <Insert attacked country> has annoyed the <Insert current disliked country> so lets go with that. Furthermore due to the nature of the medium used in the attack no one can conclusively attribute an attack to any person or country unless they catch them and no one has been caught.
How do I apply for a job at one of these crackpot companies? It's not like I would have to do any actual work, just theorise against people we don't like.
Even if they stole dollars or euros or renminbi electronically, getting those funds to a place they can spend it is difficult. Bitcoins don't have that problem, plus have the added advantage that many of their users are criminal so they aren't likely to report it to the authorities.
Obviously the DPRK has little difficulty in acquiring / spending hard currencies.
Foreign Guest Workers are paid with Korean People's Won when in the country and a choice of the Euro or US Dollar when exit account balance is paid.
I also carry electronic components in when I visit and I am promptly compensated against the invoice prices. What is amusing, there is a forgery detector light for recipients to use!
What's so great about Bitcoin if there are so many reports that others are getting to steal or destroy it? Is this the Universe where all software is beta software? Are the reports of Bitcoin's weakness just fake news originating with gov'ts, that don't like vibrant and secret money exchanges? If you're quiet, you can hear the wheels-within-wheels spinning.
In the lead up to WW2 there were a lot of countries who let the Nazi Regime get away with many small steps, for example taking over several countries with small reason, leading up to Chamberlain's famous 'Peace in Our Time' agreement from Hitler.
How much further are we to allow this man to go? It will not be long before his rockets will overfly Guam, the American island in the Pacific, then be able to reach the US mainland?
A further thought, I find difficulty in accepting that North Korea could develop these machines of war, the missile and the bomb on its own, so who is selling, or giving, these weapons to this unstable leader? Methinks that someone who wants a proxy war with the US
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