Researchers report banned Nvidia GPUs powering Pyongyang's crypto hack operations.

North Korea has been accused of using banned Nvidia GPUs to enhance its illicit activities targeting digital assets. According to recent analysis, researchers have revealed that the country has accumulated research on artificial intelligence since the late 90s, focusing on pattern recognition, speech processing, and data optimization.

According to reports, if North Korea were to leverage AI-based automation technologies, its cybercriminal activities, including crypto theft, money laundering, and fake identity creation, could be on the rise.

While it has not utilized those high-end models, the reports claim that North Korean researchers have been partially using Nvidia graphics cards, including the GeForce RTX 2700, which has been subject to export restrictions.

North Korea accused of using banned Nvidia GPUs to steal crypto

According to Kim Min Jung, head of the Advanced Technology Strategy Center at the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), a National Intelligence Service think tank, there is a need to precisely monitor the country’s AI research trend and policy responses to suppress the military and cyber diversion of related technologies.

He shared those thoughts in a report titled Analysis of North Korea’s AI Status and Policy Considerations. The report mentioned that North Korea has spent nearly 30 years building AI research capabilities that are centered on pattern recognition, data optimization, and speech processing.

It mentioned that since the 2010s, North Korea has greatly improved its internal capacities through the expansion of research institutions and the development of its algorithms. The studies carried out this year focused on facial recognition and other aspects, including accent identification and multi-object tracking.

These efforts were undertaken to improve accuracy and processing speed despite limited computational and data environments. These technologies could identify targets, predict movements, and improve efficiency in disrupting command communications or carrying out social engineering attacks.

Some of the studies used the GeForce RTX 2700, which the United States Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has designated as a prohibited item to be exported into North Korea.

Illicit funds continue to power weapons program

The report claimed that such AI capabilities, including the production of deepfake material, evasion of detection, and improved crypto theft, are possible. In the past few years, North Korea has pushed resources into its nuclear and missile weapons programs amid international sanctions.

Regarding digital asset theft, the report noted: “Utilizing high-performance AI computational resources could exponentially increase attack and theft attempts per unit time, enabling a small number of personnel to conduct operations with efficiency and precision comparable to industrial-scale efforts.”

In the report, the cooperation between North Korea, China, and Russia was mentioned, noting that it has improved since the Ukraine war. The report cited it as a main variable that could accelerate the practical deployment of AI technologies.

It emphasized the need to monitor and analyze North Korea’s AI application in several aspects. In addition, it added that while North Korea may be looking to expand its data center, there are no signs of using top-tier generative AI.

Meanwhile, a previous report by AhnLab has fingered hacking group Lazarus as the suspect in over 31 cyberattacks in the past year. The report was widely circulated amid speculations that the group might be behind the recent breach at South Korean crypto exchange Upbit.

The report claimed that aside from Lazarus, another North Korea-based group, Kimsuky, was second with 27 cases. However, in terms of countries, North Korea accounted for 86 incidents, while Russia followed at 27.

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