North Korea denies UN cryptocurrency hacking allegations and compares the accusers to Hitler

Last month, a UN report claimed North Korea had hacked banks and cryptocurrency exchanges. Now, the country denies it.

The report claimed that Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile programmes had been given a $2bn boost by illegally breaching these institutions. Part of the reason, according to the report, was that attacks on cryptocurrencies are harder to track.

Now, a spokesperson from the National Coordination Committee of the DPRK for Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism has issued a statement. This statement has been read out on North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency, according to Bitcoinist.

It vehemently denied the allegations and stated that they were fabricated “ill-hearted rumours” spread by the US “and other hostile forces” with the aim of “tarnishing the image” of the country.

The statement continued, “The fabrication of such a sheer lie by the ringleaders of cyber crime and all other crimes is quite an absurd act aimed at re-enacting the same old trick as the Hitler fascist propagandists used to cling to, often saying ‘Tell a lie a hundred times and it will pass as a truth.’”

Cryptocurrencies have faced criticism for a long while due to the anonymity digital currencies enjoy. Echoing these concerns, a UN official said at the end of August that they made it extremely difficult to fight abuse of children, money laundering and terrorism funding.

Enjoyed the story? 

Subscribe to our weekly RegTech newsletter and get the latest industry news & research

Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst

Investors

The following investor(s) were tagged in this article.