Permalink to South Korea’s Cyber Criminals and the 6,000 Crypto Mining Rig Hack

The cyber criminals that attacked the crypto mining operations of more than 6,000 mining rigs (PCs) have been apprehended.

HodlX Guest Blog  Submit Your Post

As reported the Korean news outlet Aju Daily, four hackers attempting to steal cryptocurrencies like Litecoin (LTC), Bitcoin (BTC), and Ethereum (ETH) from unsuspecting crypto miners were arrested in South Korea by the Korean National Police Agency Cyber Bureau (KNPACB).

The thieves wormed their way into the mining rigs through maliciously coded emails. The emails convinced the victims to download the malware to their devices. The victims unknowingly installed the software that activated a process enabling cryptos being mined by the host computer to be siphoned away. But this time their invitation fell into the wrong hands. The hands of the new breed of cyber Sherlock Holmes, who was able to hunt the senders down.

The cyber authorities now have someone they can make an example of to all the other cyber criminals. Criminals that are responsible for more than US $63 million in thefts of cryptocurrencies, from only two hackings in 2018. The crypto market cannot advance until the criminal activity of hacking can be wiped out. The crypto market is craving for the day when hackings will no longer be a threat to the integrity of the blockchain and the security it is hyped to be residing in.

How will these cyber criminals be dealt with? This is what the crypto world is waiting to see. Are they going to have to walk the plank and jump into an ocean full of man eating sharks? Or will they do what most criminals do to avoid incarceration? And that is, turn in the other cybercriminals or become a cyber crimefighter themselves.

You may recall the blockbuster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Catch Me If You Can. In the film Mr. DiCaprio portrayed the character of Frank Abagnale, a forger, who at the age of 19 had already stolen millions of dollars through counterfeit checks during the 1960s. When Mr. Abagnale is finally caught after decades of living life as a fugitive, he is given the choice of incarceration, a life behind bars. Or freedom working with the FBI to arrest other forgers and conmen. He chose freedom.

The only crypto-mining hacker whose identity has been made public is the alleged ringleader, Kim Amu-gae. It will be extremely interesting to watch and see how the other criminals caught with him will pay the penalty for the crimes the hackers were accused of. Will their identities become public? Or will they fade into the mist of obscurity as they take on new identities of super cyber crime stoppers.

The cyber thefts that have taken place just this year alone can be categorized as the greatest thefts of all time. What happens to the greatest thief of all time? This is a first and a drama well worth watching. When will this real-life drama become a documentary? A video drama where I can sit down in front of my big screen, eat a bowl of popcorn, and relive the excitement of the cat and mouse game played by cyber cops and cyber criminals.