For North Korea, AI is a cybercrime force/crime multiplier increasing the already large scale of its cyber crimes

Recommendable overview article! Is not a way shut down these massive criminal activities by North Korea? This has been going on for decades using ever changing technologies.

"AI is changing how states operationalise their cyber capabilities. In North Korea’s case, it’s transforming the country into a bigger cyber power by helping Pyongyang expand what it already does: generate revenue, obtain trusted access and collect intelligence at extraordinary scale.

North Korea has built one of the world’s most unusual state cyber programs, treating hacking not only as an instrument of statecraft but as an industry.

Its operations combine cryptocurrency theft, fraudulent overseas IT employment and other forms of cybercrime with longstanding espionage against foreign defence, aerospace, government and policy targets. AI fits naturally into this model because its greatest value is in lowering the cost of running existing fraudulent models.

The scale of North Korea’s malicious cyber activity is already remarkable.

In the first half of 2026, blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs assessed that North Korean hackers stole around US$643 million (A$900 million) in cryptocurrency, accounting for roughly 66 percent of tracked global crypto theft. Pyongyang has effectively industrialised cyber-enabled revenue generation, from large-scale cryptocurrency theft to bank heist operations. It’s turning capabilities once associated with intelligence services and transnational criminal organisations into a reliable source of hard currency. ...

This is most prominent in North Korea’s fraudulent IT-worker operations, in which nationals win legitimate remote IT jobs using fabricated or stolen identities, drawing salaries that benefit the regime while gaining trusted access to the systems they are hired to build.

One estimate has found that as many as 22 operatives submitted at least 166,893 applications to US companies across 2024 and 2025, sat more than 21,000 interviews and secured at least 76 job offers. ..."

For North Korea, AI is a cybercrime force multiplier | The Strategist

Iranian cyberattack shuts down British power plant for four days

Bad news! Is this dawn of the age of cyber wars!

I blogged here recently about what could be a similar attack on water treatment plants in Minnesota and 11 other US states. ...

Though British officials have not named the targeted power plant, citing security concerns, the outlet noted that it is "relatively small" and, as such, the attack did not affect the UK's national power supply or its ability to generate power. ..."

"Iran shut down a British power plant for four days in an unprecedented cyber attack, The Telegraph can disclose.

It is thought to be the first time that hackers affiliated to the Iranian regime have succeeded in closing down such a facility in the UK, and is believed to be the most successful cyber attack of its kind. ..."

Iranian cyberattack shuts down British power plant for four days | The Jerusalem Post "The attack occured during the reported Iranian cyberattack that targeted over 30 municipal water systems in Minnesota and several other states in the US, according to the Telegraph."

Iranian hackers shut down UK power plant "Unprecedented cyber attack believed to be most successful of its kind"

Iran offers $30,000 bounty for killing or capturing invading US soldiers with the reward doubled if carried out by a woman.

What rogue states like Iran do!

"... Hatami repeated Iran's call for the US to leave the Middle East, and said "they no longer have permission to enter the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman or the Strait of Hormuz". ..."

Iran offers $30,000 bounty for killing or capturing US soldiers - France 24 "The Iranian military announced on Sunday it would be offering a $30,000 reward for the killing or capturing of US soldiers, with the bounty doubled if conducted by a woman. There have been no known deployments of US ground troops in Iran during the war except for a rescue mission carried out in April."

Credits: Defense News

Cuba is Incubating Lefty Terror Attacks in America

Why is Cuba still a one-party ruled communist country!

When will Cuba libre finally become reality!!!

Latest since the serious Cuba Missile Crisis of 1962, communist Cuba has been a national security issue for the US. and exporter of communism around the world and in particular in Latin America!

"The State Department published a damning report documenting the Cuban communist regime’s nefarious activities in America.

Among the revelations: Cuba has been training over 10,000 American left-wing activists and funding dissent in this country. They have the ability to organize disruptive demonstrations at most military bases and immigration facilities at a day’s notice. ...

Former Venceremos brigadier Karen Bass managed to get elected as mayor of America’s second-largest city. She has advanced causes favorable to the Cuban regime, such as calling to lift sanctions on the communist regime. When the Cuban tyrant Fidel Castro died, she mourned him as “Comandante en Jefe” — commander in chief. ...

Isra Hirsi, daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), made a trip to Havana in March. She thanked the People’s Forum for organizing the trip, despite concerns that the organization may be a Chinese Communist Party propaganda arm. People’s Forum denies any wrongdoing.

Some Cuban operatives aren’t as overtly revolutionary and work through more conventional political and professional channels, including nonprofit institutions and political organizations such as the Democratic Socialists of America.

Since 2019, the DSA has expanded its activism related to Cuba. The party has intensified this engagement during the second Trump administration. ...

The DSA sent 40 rank-and-file and governing members to Havana. They met with communist officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Cossío Domínguez. The DSA also participated in the trip that sent Hirsi and far-left streamer Hasan Piker — who recently called Mao Zedong “one of the great leaders of this world” — to Cuba.

Fortunately, the Trump administration has accelerated its efforts against the communist-influence network in America. A federal court is investigating far-left China-based billionaire Neville Roy Singham, a chief financier of the nonprofit network supporting communist activities.

Besides the People’s Forum, Singham is a major contributor to Code Pink. His wife, Jodie Evans, is the co-founder. Its leadership includes some of the country’s most prominent pro-Cuba activists, including Medea Benjamin, Claudia De la Cruz and Vivien Lesnik Weisman. A grand jury is reportedly investigating whether Singham’s activities may have violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. ...

The Justice Department is also seeking the extradition of another far-left financier, James “Fergie” Chambers, who is living in Spain. ..."

Cuba Must Pay for Incubating Lefty Terror Attacks in America

Cuba must pay for incubating far-left terror attacks and dissidents across the United States

Cuba: The Capital of 21st Century Communism (original report, 100 pages, no executive summary)

Ilsa Hirsi, the daughter of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), stayed in a 5-star hotel during her trip to Havana.

China-linked LightSpy spyware caught targeting victims in 13 countries, including across Europe and the US

Bad news!

So in China state-based spyware platform can turn into a commercial spyware platform? Is the Communist Party of China running a rogue state?

"Researchers linked the latest malicious activity to a Chinese company, after one of the spyware's operators placed an order with KFC using their real name and office address." (Source)

"Security researchers say they have evidence that a Chinese-linked spyware has expanded from mainland China to now target victims in over a dozen countries, including across Europe and the United States. The previously identified spyware also has new functionality capable of stealing troves of data and remotely bricking devices.

The researchers at cybersecurity firm Arctic Wolf said that the LightSpy spyware, first discovered in 2018 and previously linked to Chinese state-backed hackers, has since evolved into a commercial spyware platform operated by a single threat actor who caters to governments, enterprises, and militaries. ...

According to the company, LightSpy operates a network of at least 117 servers in several countries around the world. ..."

China-linked LightSpy spyware caught targeting victims in 13 countries, including the US | TechCrunch

What is an arctic wolf doing? (Source)

China Has Quietly Accepted a Nuclear North Korea

A concerning development if confirmed!

Did China indeed relent to the evolving closer cooperation between two rogue states, i.e. Russia under Putin the Terrible and North Korea?

"Xi Jinping has made a consequential strategic choice. Faced with Kim Jong Un’s growing partnership with Vladimir Putin, Xi is rebuilding Chinese political and economic support for North Korea and abandoning the pretense that Beijing is seriously pursuing its denuclearization.

The result will not be a more restrained Kim. It will be a more dangerous one.

Kim is now positioned to draw military assistance and treaty protection from Russia while continuing to receive the trade, money and political backing that only China can provide. As his nuclear arsenal and conventional forces improve, he will have stronger incentives to take risks against South Korea and the United States. Most alarmingly, should China initiate a conflict over Taiwan, Kim could see an opportunity to exploit America’s distraction. ...

For years, Chinese officials claimed that Beijing wanted both stability and denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula. Stability was always the higher priority, but China at least supported denuclearization negotiations and some efforts to constrain North Korea’s weapons programs.

That policy is effectively over.

During Xi’s June 2026 visit to Pyongyang, the first by a Chinese leader in seven years, Xi  omitted any meaningful reference to denuclearization. Premier of North Korea Pak Thae-song met with Xi in early July, where Xi again did not mention denuclearization. The silence was striking.

These instances followed other notable omissions, including at the 2025 North Korea-China summit.

The last time a Chinese official explicitly called for North Korean denuclearization was in May 2024 at the South Korea-China-Japan trilateral summit.  Beijing has tacitly accepted North Korea as a permanent nuclear power, hoping that in exchange it will regain influence over Kim.

Xi’s shift reflects the emergence of Kim’s “Russia option.”

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine [in 2022], North Korea has become an important supplier of artillery ammunition, ballistic missiles and military personnel to Moscow. In return, Russia has offered Kim economic support, diplomatic protection, military cooperation and assistance with missiles, satellites, air defenses and other advanced capabilities. Their 2024 comprehensive strategic partnership treaty includes a mutual-assistance commitment. ..."

China Has Quietly Accepted a Nuclear North Korea | American Enterprise Institute - AEI

How Rogue Nations Are Using Cryptocurrencies to Evade Sanctions

Should be an interesting article by the Wall Street Journal!

What drives the high market price of e.g. Bitcoin?

"Iran, Russia, North Korea and other targets of sanctions have dramatically increased their use of virtual currencies to duck U.S. pressure, handling around $100 billion worth of crypto last year alone, firms that track the flows say. ..."

How Rogue Nations Are Using Cryptocurrencies to Evade Sanctions - WSJ (behind paywall) "Blacklisted entities handled $100 billion in crypto in 2025, financing terrorism and weapons"

Iran’s friends vanishing: Why Maduro’s arrest matters for Israel - analysis

Recommendable! Yes, the pressure on Iran increased this weekend!

"... Yes, the spectacle of a US-led operation removing a defiant anti-American autocrat will inevitably sharpen anxieties among Iran’s leaders about their own vulnerabilities, especially at a time when protests are roiling the country.

But further meaning is found elsewhere, in the dismantling of yet another supporting pillar in the global network Iran painstakingly constructed to finance, shield, and sustain its war against Israel. Venezuela was never an Iranian proxy in the way Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, or Bashar al-Assad’s Syria were.

Caracas was not directly under Tehran’s thumb and operational command, nor did it host Iranian forces on the scale seen in the Middle East. Yet, through Hezbollah, Venezuela became something no less important to the ayatollahs – a critical offshore hub that generated cash, laundered funds, moved operatives, and enabled Iran to project power far from the Mideast. ..."

Why Maduro’s arrest matters for Israel | The Jerusalem Post "While Venezuela was not an Iranian proxy in the Syrian or Hezbollah mold, it functioned as an enabler, providing funds that helped sustain Iran’s proxies."

The Complex Tech Behind Counterfeit-Resistant Cash

Recommendable, but so 20th century! Cash is almost obsolete in the 21st century! How do we safeguard digital currency and payments. These, days I use my credit card exclusively to pay for almost all my shopping no matter whether online or in brick and mortar stores etc..

Notice also how North Korea is involved in counterfeiting foreign currencies with emphasis on the U.S. currency.

North Korea: China Shirks Responsibility As An Ascending Superpower!

Posted: 7/1/2017

Trigger

Just read China’s Moment to Lead on North Korea. Unlike the author of this article, I would not argue that the U.S. has to offer more to make China move on ending this horrible, dynastic dictatorship in North Korea to finally and long overdue reunite the Korean peninsula.

No Doubt About China’s Role Of Buttressing North Korea

Without communist China’s enduring, extensive and decades long support in many ways, communist, stalinist North Korea would have long collapsed.

What is the purpose? To be a constant thorn in the flesh of or to maintain a distraction for capitalist countries? Quite possible!

Would China have to face up to their own communist dictatorship if they help to rid the world of the communist dictatorship in North Korea? Probably!

Is China a wretched, economic beneficiary (e.g. import of slave labor, natural resources) of supporting North Korea? It appears so.

Russia’s Or Iran’s Role

Will these two country remain the last two rogue powers to support North Korea?

Pleading With The Ascending Superpower

Reunite the Korean peninsula in a peaceful and humanitarian way! Plan a transition for the reunification!

What does China want to get rid of the dictatorship in North Korea? A nuclear weapons free Korean peninsula? A neutral Korean peninsula like Austria or Switzerland? None of this is impossible!

Previous, Related Blog Posts

I have blogged about the subject of North Korea, reunification etc. several times before.

Why Is Korea Still Not Reunited?

Posted: 3/3/2012  Updated: 4/2/2017, 11/1/2015

Update Of 4/2/2017

Just read this quite compelling article by John R. Bolton about the subject of reunification of the Korean peninsula. He argues after over 20 years of thoroughly failed U.S. foreign diplomacy it is about time to put the goal of reunification on the front burner.

Update Of 11/1/2015

Just read in this article Nordkorea verkauft offenbar tausende Bürger ins Ausland Die Vereinten Nationen werfen Nordkorea staatlich organisierten Menschenhandel vor: Um an Devisen zu kommen, habe Nordkorea 50.000 seiner Bürger zur Zwangsarbeit ins Ausland geschickt. that the United Nations reported that North Korea sells about 50,000 slave workers primarily to Russia and China for hard currency revenues.

""It is believed that the government of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea earns through that system between $1.2 billion and $2.3 billion per year," he wrote, adding that they worked mainly in mining, logging, textile and construction." (Reuters)

As I have speculated below it is primarily Russia and China that still and persistently prevent the unification of Korea now even more than 25 years after the unification of Germany. This is a disgrace on a global scale!

Prologue

The artificial division of Korea is probably the last remaining major relic of the Cold War.

What Is Wrong With Wikileaks?

Why does Wikileaks not leak any Chinese, Russian, or North Korean documents to shed some light on this on this decades old quagmire? Just making fun of Wikileaks. I am sure one day they will publish those documents. ;-)

What Is The Matter With Western Diplomacy?

How much longer will it take until the surviving members of separated Korean families are united again? How much longer will it take until the enslaved, starving, and impoverished North Koreans can enjoy a better life?

Is the Western diplomacy content with their narrowly focused efforts to isolate or contain North Korea or to subject North Korea to nuclear arms inspections regime? Why is the West afraid of openly asking China and Russia what they want? Let the world find out.

What is so intractable that we see no progress? Is there perhaps a hidden agenda why Western countries plus Japan are not succeeding in the reunification of Korea?

If China is opposed, what is China asking for? If Russia is opposed, what is Russia asking for? Are there other parties opposed to the reunification, perhaps Japan or other Asian countries?

What are the West, Japan, and South Korea willing to offer? What price is South Korea willing to pay for reunification?

What If China Opened The Borders To North Korean Refugees?

There is probably little doubt that China holds the key to the reunification on the Korean peninsula.

Currently, China treats North Korean refugees like criminals and repatriates them to North Korea. Another one of China’s human rights violations. China's repatriation policy is a violation of the International Convention on Refugees, to which it is a signatory. The Convention bars returning of refugees to places where their lives would be endangered.

Finally, in early March 2012, South Korea has dared to raise the issue in the United Nations Human Rights Council.

Is there a minefield built by the North Korean dictator along the Chinese border to prevent large numbers of people to flee the country?

How long could the North Korean regime survive if China were to decline further support of the regime and if China opened the border to North Korean refugees? My guess is not very long. North Korean soldiers (and with them entire navy ships and air force planes) would be among the first to cross the border and go AWOL. I am sure South Korea and the West would pay for any refugees.

What Is The Role Of Russia?

Is Russia really willing to support the North Korean dictator even if China were to give up support of North Korea? Does Russia have any business interests in North Korea? Is Russia just playing games with the West, South Korea, and Japan?

What Are The Obstacles?

Is it solely the reluctance of the North Korean dictator and its military that prevents the unification? Would the North Koreans start a war or launch its missiles if China and Russia were to withdraw their support of the regime?

Is South Korea averse to reunification fearing perhaps the enormous costs of rebuilding North Korea? Does South Korea have any advantages from the current status quo?

Is China afraid of a bigger economic or military competitor if Korea was reunited? Does the Chinese Gerontocracy still believe in a buffer? Is China holding out to vex the West, South Korea, and Japan? Does China insist that Taiwan has to be part of the solution? Is China afraid that the unification of Korea would threaten its own dictatorship?

If China insists on Taiwan being part of the solution, is Taiwan refusing to consider being a part?

Is Japan the problem? Why?

Whatever the obstacles or hidden agendas why does the general world public not learn more about it? [Sarcastic footnote: Well, Wikileaks and Mr. Assange are too preoccupied to attack the US and greedy Western Banks. Wikileaks and Assange are not really interested in human progress.]

A Possible Scenario

Reunification yes, but unified Korea may have to become neutral like Switzerland. Taiwan agrees to hold a referendum whether it will be reunited with China or not and about the transition period perhaps somewhat along the lines of Hong Kong.