North korea commenes large scale bitcoin mining operation

Information recently surfaced that someone in North Korea has started mining bitcoin. According to Recorded Future, a threat intelligence company, on May 17 North Korea initiated a rather large mining operation. Prior to this date, there was minimal bitcoin node activity in the country.

Also Read: Indian Multi-Industry Survey Shows 97% Awareness of Bitcoin

The website said, “Before that day, there had been virtually no activity to Bitcoin-related sites or nodes, or utilizing Bitcoin-specific ports or protocols. Beginning on May 17, that activity increased exponentially, from nothing to hundreds per day.”

North Korea Wannacry Ransomware Connection

The website explored an intricate theory about why North Korea began mining bitcoin. They made a connection between the bitcoin mining start date and the timeline of the Wannacry ransomware attacks in May. The ransomware effectively encrypted over 75,000 businesses computers worldwide, and then asked for a bitcoin ransom in return for access to the files.