BILL GERTZ: North Korean Financial Hacking Group Revealed.

North Korean hackers are engaged in sophisticated financial hacking operations that have targeted at least $1.1 billion in thefts from nearly a dozen countries ranging from Asia to South America to Europe, according to a new report by a noted cyber security group.

Using a combination of fraudulent emails, malicious software and destructive cyber attacks, the North Korean group dubbed APT38 is distinct from Pyongyang’s other cyber espionage and political operations, such as the 2014 cyber attack against Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to a report by the cyber security firm FireEye.

“Based on observed activity, we judge that APT38’s primary mission is targeting financial systems to raise large sums of money for the North Korean regime,” the report, “APT38: Un-usual Suspects,” states.

They’ve taken “Gangster State” to its literal extreme.