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WORLD NEWS Saturday 3 June 2017

North Korea, cyberattacks and ‘Lazarus’: What we really know

By ERIC TALMADGE rect attribution of a nation-
Associated Press state.
TOKYO (AP) — With the It determined the attack
dust now settling after “was carried out by a sin-
“WannaCry,” the biggest gle group, or potentially
ransomware attack in his- very closely linked groups,
tory, cybersecurity experts sharing technical resourc-
are taking a deep dive es, infrastructure and even
into how it was carried out, tasking.”
what can be done to pro- It named the group Laza-
tect computers from future rus and tied it to a string
breaches and, trickiest of of attacks dating back to
all, who is to blame. 2007 or 2009.
Beyond the frequently Researchers at cybersecu-
used shorthand that North rity giant Kaspersky Labs,
Korea was likely behind the which also participated in
attack lies a more compli- Operation Blockbuster, sur-
cated story of the rise of an mised the Lazarus attack-
infamous group of hackers ers are probably located
known as “Lazarus,” who in a time zone eight or nine
may be using secret lairs in hours ahead of Greenwich
northeast China and have Mean Time — which would
created a virtual “malware Employees watch electronic boards monitoring possible ransomware cyberattacks at the Ko- include China, Malaysia
factory” that could wreak rea Internet and Security Agency in Seoul, South Korea. Beyond the frequently used shorthand and parts of Indonesia,
a lot more havoc in the fu- that North Korea was behind the “WannaCry” ransomware attack lies a more complicated and among other places — be-
ture. enlightening story: the rise of an infamous group of workaholic hackers, collectively known as cause they seem to start
Who are they? “Lazarus,” who may be using secret lairs in northeast China and have created a virtual “malware working at around mid-
On Dec. 19, 2014, just one factory” that could wreak a lot more havoc in the future. night GMT and break for
month after a devastating (Yun Dong-jin/Yonhap via AP) lunch three hours later.
hack hobbled Sony Pic- They even claimed the
tures Entertainment, the the gravest national secu- by Novetta launched “Op- tics, tools and capabilities hackers get roughly 6-7
FBI’s field office in San Di- rity dangers” to the United eration Blockbuster” and in strongly indicated the work hours of sleep per night.
ego issued a press release States. 2016 released a detailed of a “structured, resourced
stating North Korea was Its claim North Korea was to public report on the attack and motivated organiza-
the culprit and saying such blame has been disputed. that lined up with the FBI’s tion,” but said its analysis Continued on Page 27
cyberattacks pose “one of An industry consortium led conclusion that the tac- could not support the di-
Philippine police seek casino attacker’s identity

By JIM GOMEZ adjoining hotel and kill him- But hours later, the Islamic and admit every criminal south, where Marawi is lo-
Associated Press self. State group claimed re- incident and label it as its cated.
MANILA, Philippines (AP) The Islamic State group sponsibility in a statement, own, clearly indicative of its The attack occurred at a
— Philippine police say the claimed responsibility for saying “Brother Abu al- pure penchant for propa- sprawling mall-like com-
attacker was a tall, Eng- the attack, but Philippine Kheir al-Arkhabili was able ganda,” Padilla said. plex near the Manila air-
lish-speaking white man police said they believed it to immerse among a gath- Many in Manila feared af- port that includes hotels,
with a mustache. They say had been a robbery gone ering of Christian fighters in ter the attack began early restaurants, stores and a
he carried an assault rifle, wrong. the Resorts World Manila in Friday that it was linked to multi-floor gambling area.
and that he used gasoline Police told reporters the Manila where he carried ongoing battles with Mus- Police said that during the
to start a casino fire that man stole more than $2 mil- out killing and hurting until lim militants aligned with attack the man stole more
caused clouds of smoke lion in gambling chips and he died as a martyr. About the Islamic State group in than $2 million worth of ca-
that left at least 36 people avoided shooting people 100 Christians were killed or the southern city of Marawi. sino chips, though he ap-
dead Friday morning in a he encountered in the ca- wounded.” The fighting has placed parently abandoned them
sprawling entertainment sino, pointing his gun up- Military spokesman Brig. much of the country on in a toilet soon after.
complex in Manila. ward when he fired some Gen. Restituto Padilla re- edge and raised fears that “Either he lost in the casino
But by Friday evening, po- shots. jected the claim, saying the IS group was gaining a and wanted to recoup his
lice said they still didn’t “He would have shot all the attack “does not have foothold. The Philippines losses or he went totally
know the man’s name, or the people gambling” if his the slightest signature of has faced Muslim insurgen- nuts,” Metropolitan Manila
why he launched his attack goal was terrorism, national terrorism whatsoever.” cies for decades, though police chief Oscar Albay-
at the Resorts World Manila police chief Ronald dela “As in previous incidents, much of the violence has alde said.q
complex, only to flee to an Rosa said. this group is prone to claim occurred in the troubled