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UN Investigates North Korea on Cyberattacks Funding WMD

The U.N. experts are currently investigating 35 cases in 17 countries where North Koreas were using cyberattacks to raise money for the military objective.

They are calling for sanctions against ships that are providing gasoline and diesel to the country as a precaution for the money raised to be used for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs.

Reported last week, experts said North Korea “used cyberspace to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks to steal funds from financial institutions and cryptocurrency exchanges to generate income.”

The experts also mentioned that the U.N. is investigating “at least 35 reported instances of DPRK (Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) actors attacking financial institutions, cryptocurrency exchanges, and mining activity to earn foreign currency.”

The U.N. experts noted that the attacks targeting cryptocurrency exchanges allowed it “to generate income in ways that are harder to trace and subject to less government oversight and regulation than the traditional banking sector.”

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said: “We call upon all responsible states to take action to counter North Korea’s ability to conduct malicious cyber activity, which generates revenue that supports its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.”

The reported attacks being investigated were attempted violations of U.N. Sanctions. South Korea took the hardest hit, with 10 North Korean cyberattacks. Other countries that were attacked were India, Bangladesh, Chile, Costa Rica, Gambia, Guatemala, Kuwait, Liberia, Malaysia, Malta, Nigeria, Poland, Slovenia, South Africa, Tunisia, and Vietnam.

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Blockchain Unleashed at the United Nations General Assembly on the Global Crisis

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old has been on the headlines for the global climate crisis movement and has delivered a compelling speech at the 73rd United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on how businesses and political involvement have stolen her dreams by the lack of response to the crisis.

The burning platform created by Thunberg and the Global Climate Strike, involving around 1.4 million children protesting and thereby staying away from school for the development in blockchain and sustainable development goals (SDGs).

Dr. Jane Thomason, the CEO of Fintech Worldwide, suggested:

“An increasing number of blockchain events at and around the UNGA this year focused on demonstrating how blockchain is continuing to contribute to the SDGs by offering up some excellent use cases.”

“A report by the Sustainable Digital Finance Alliance (SDFA) and HSBC Center of Sustainable Finance launched the report, “Blockchain Gateway for Sustainability Linked Bonds: Widening access to finance block by block,” suggested that blockchain can enable the green bond market to scale dramatically from 2 percent of the current trillion dollar market and could potentially unlock capital solutions.”

Katherine Foster, the Chief Intelligence Officer of the SDFA mentioned:

“With 130 banks representing more than $47 trillion in assets and one-third of the global industry signing the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Banking on Sunday, the role of green digital finance will be central to meet the goals of the U.N.’s Paris Agreement on Climate Change, as well as its Sustainable Development Goals.”

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Libra Adds New Nonprofit Member Heifer International to Tackle World Hunger and Poverty After Enduring Months of Regulatory Scrutiny

The Libra Association has welcomed a new member, Heifer International, a nonprofit organization aimed to tackle world hunger and poverty. The addition of Heifer International brings the tally of members in the Libra Association to twenty-three.

Around 780 million people in the world live in extreme poverty and spend less than $1.90 per person per day. A third of children who live in low to middle-income countries suffer from chronic malnutrition, as the adults may not have access to nutritious food due to insufficient income levels, leading to a child death rate of 45 percent due to malnutrition, according to the World Health Organization, 2018.

Heifer International works with some of the world’s poorest farmers, providing them with access to new markets and sustainably increase production. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that less than 10 percent of these farmers can have access to credit. With around 1.7 billion adults in the world remain unbanked, and after surviving months of intense backlash by global regulators, Libra could take supporting financial inclusion to the next level.

Announced in a blog post, Heifer International CEO Pierre Ferrari indicated that the Libra project “has the potential to deliver a low-cost, more accessible and more connected global financial system.”

Last week, Facebook made an announcement regarding new updates to its whitepaper, to move away from its original plan of a permissionless digital currency, to a coin that would be subject to foreign exchange controls and regulations.

Libra has applied for a payment system license from the Swiss Financial Markets Supervisory Authority (FINMA), to be able to allow the Libra payments system to be used publicly. One of the major updates of the Libra whitepaper is that it explicitly mentions the limits of what users are able to do on the network, including balance and transaction limits, and the network would only be accessible to regulated crypto firms in the beginning.

Although Libra hopes to work with as many central banks as possible, for jurisdictions whose currency has not been added to Libra’s stablecoin backing will be unable to use it.

UN convenes AI High-level Advisory Body for Global Governance

The United Nations Secretary-General is spearheading a multi-stakeholder High-level Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The initiative aims to harness AI’s potential for humanity while addressing its accompanying risks and uncertainties as AI technologies proliferate internationally. The comprehensive approach seeks to foster a globally inclusive ethos by analyzing and advancing recommendations for AI’s international governance.

The Advisory Body is poised to comprise up to 38 experts from a diverse spectrum of relevant disciplines globally. The experts will hail from government, private sector, and civil society, each bringing to the table varied perspectives on AI governance. This assemblage is expected to engage extensively with both existing and emerging initiatives alongside international organizations. By doing so, it aims to bridge varying perspectives across different stakeholder groups and networks, ensuring a well-rounded discourse on the governance of AI.

The UN is rallying support for the Advisory Body’s operations and its Secretariat, nested within the Office of the Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology (OSET). Contributors supporting this endeavor will bolster stakeholder cooperation on governing AI amidst the backdrop of emerging technical breakthroughs, thereby aiding in better-governed AI on a global scale.

The leadership of this high-level body includes Co-Chairs Carme Artigas, Secretary of State for Digitalisation and Artificial Intelligence of Spain, and James Manyika, Senior Vice President of Google-Alphabet, President for Research, Technology, and Society. The members’ list is a blend of eminent personalities from various countries and sectors, each bringing a rich reservoir of knowledge and experience to the table.

Among the noteworthy members are Omar Sultan Al Olama, Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence of the United Arab Emirates; Anna Abramova, Director of the Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO)-University AI Centre; and Mira Murati, Chief Technology Officer of OpenAI. Their collective expertise spans across AI governance, digital policy, and technological advancements, making the Advisory Body a potent force in driving international AI governance.

This move by the UN signifies a robust step towards fostering interdisciplinary expertise to align international AI governance with human rights and Sustainable Development Goals. The multistakeholder, networked approach of the Advisory Body is designed to offer a gamut of perspectives and options on how AI can be governed for the common good. It also underscores the importance of a globally inclusive strategy to navigate the complexities of AI governance amidst a rapidly evolving technological landscape.

In conclusion, the UN’s initiative to convene a High-level Advisory Body on AI illustrates a proactive stance towards forging a coherent global framework for AI governance. By harnessing a diverse array of global expertise and fostering wide engagement, this endeavor aims to position AI as a force for good, aligned with human rights and sustainable development objectives.

Binance CEO Highlights Disproportionate Narrative on Illicit Activities in Crypto versus Fiat Currencies

The debate surrounding illicit financial activities within the cryptocurrency space has been a contentious issue, with critics often pointing to the potential for misuse. However, recent remarks by Binance CEO Richard Teng and analysis by Dr. Andrzej Gwizdalski, a lecturer at the University of Western Australia, offer a new perspective.

Dr. Gwizdalski compiled data from the United Nations, World Economic Forum, and blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis to compare illicit activities in crypto and traditional fiat currencies. His findings present a stark contrast: while cryptocurrencies are often highlighted for their use in illegal activities, the volume is significantly lower than that in the traditional fiat system.

The United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime notes that the estimated amount of money laundered globally in a year is between 2-5% of global GDP, translating to $800 billion to $2 trillion. This is primarily through traditional fiat currencies. On the other hand, the World Economic Forum reports that corruption costs developing countries about $1.26 trillion annually, highlighting the scale of illegal activities in the traditional financial system.

In contrast, Chainalysis data revealed that the illicit use of cryptocurrencies reached a record $20.1 billion in 2022. This figure, while significant, pales in comparison to the estimates for fiat currencies. Importantly, the nature of blockchain technology means that transactions in cryptocurrencies are transparent and traceable, arguably making them a less attractive medium for illegal activities.

Richard Teng, CEO of Binance, echoed these sentiments. He emphasized the need to shift the narrative around crypto’s role in illicit activities, especially in light of such comparisons. Quoting Dr. Gwizdalski, Teng highlighted that traditional fiat, like the USD, is implicated in an estimated $3.2 trillion in illegal activities annually, over 100 times the amount linked to cryptocurrencies. He suggested a rethinking of the narrative, arguing that fiat currencies’ involvement in corruption and money laundering should not extend their reputation to cryptocurrencies.

The information compiled by Dr. Gwizdalski and echoed by Binance’s CEO calls for a reconsideration of the perspective on cryptocurrencies in the context of illicit financial activities. It suggests that while cryptocurrencies are not free from being used for illegal purposes, their scale and nature of misuse are significantly smaller compared to traditional fiat currencies. This insight is crucial for policymakers and the general public in understanding and regulating the crypto space.

UN Investigation Reveals DPRK's $3 Billion Crypto Cyberattack Scheme

The United Nations (UN) is currently leading an investigation into a series of cyberattacks orchestrated by groups linked to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), targeting cryptocurrency firms over a six-year span. These operations have reportedly generated approximately $3 billion in profits, which are believed to support North Korea’s weapons of mass destruction (WMD) development programs. The investigation, supervised by an independent sanctions committee, has identified 58 cryptocurrency-related companies as victims between 2017 and 2023.

The primary focus of these cyberattacks has been to circumvent international sanctions and bolster North Korea’s WMD capabilities, including its nuclear arsenal. Despite facing stringent UN sanctions aimed at cutting off funding for its WMD programs, North Korea has managed to continue its nuclear and missile development efforts. The UN sanctions, intensified over the years since their initial imposition in 2006, have sought to curb North Korea’s access to the international financial system and restrict its ability to develop and proliferate nuclear weapons.

Recent analyses by blockchain intelligence firms such as Chainalysis have shed light on the scale of DPRK’s cyber operations. In 2023 alone, DPRK-linked hacking groups were responsible for about $1 billion in cryptocurrency theft through 20 separate attacks, indicating a significant but slightly reduced activity level compared to the $1.7 billion stolen across 15 incidents in 2022. Despite advancements in cybersecurity measures and increased international cooperation in tracking and recovering stolen funds, experts predict that DPRK’s cybercriminal activities will continue to pose a significant threat. Advanced attack methodologies are expected to be employed by these groups, challenging global efforts to combat cybercrime.

The forthcoming UN report, expected to be published in the near future, aims to provide a comprehensive overview of these cyberattacks and their implications for global security and the international financial system. It will highlight the ongoing challenges posed by DPRK’s sophisticated cyber operations and the need for concerted international efforts to mitigate their impact.

The case of DPRK’s cyberattacks on cryptocurrency firms underscores the complex interplay between cybersecurity, international finance, and global efforts to prevent the proliferation of WMDs. It reflects the growing challenge of addressing state-sponsored cyber activities that not only threaten the security of the digital economy but also have broader implications for international peace and security.