South Korea says North selling illegal gambling websites
South Korea’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) says it has uncovered a network of illegal sites.
South Korea.- The National Intelligence Service (NIS) claims to have uncovered a network of illegal online gambling websites allegedly operated by a North Korean entity affiliated with the Workers’ Party. Gyonghung Information Technology reportedly created the sites and sold them to a South Korean cybercrime group.
Based in Dandong, a Chinese border town adjacent to North Korea’s Sinuiju, Gyonghung Information Technology claims to have 15 staff. According to the NIS, it received $5,000 for each website along with a monthly maintenance fee of $3,000 and additional payments ranging from $2,000 to $5,000 based on traffic. The payments were facilitated through Chinese bank accounts and PayPal.
The NIS said it suspects that Gyonghung operated under Bureau 39, a branch of the North Korean party responsible for managing leader Kim Jong-un’s funds and had obtained personal data from website users through malicious code.
The NIS says it obtained photographic and video evidence showing the identities of Gyonghung staff and their use of fake personas as Chinese nationals.
