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TikTok in Talks with Indonesian E-commerce Firms about Partnerships

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
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TikTok in Talks with Indonesian E-commerce Firms about Partnerships

The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake
The TikTok logo is pictured outside the company's US head office in Culver City, California, US, September 15, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Blake

TikTok has been holding talks with Indonesian e-commerce companies about possible partnerships, an Indonesian minister said on Monday, a month after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms.
TikTok has spoken with five companies including GoTo's e-commerce unit Tokopedia, Bukalapak.com and Blibli, according to Teten Masduki, minister for small-medium enterprises (SMEs), Reuters said.
"Some e-commerce companies in Indonesia have talked to TikTok," he said in an interview, citing what the companies' executives told him.
Indonesia's trade ministry implemented the ban last month, aiming to protect smaller brick-and-mortar merchants and ensure the protection of users' data.
It was a particular blow to TikTok, which was forced to close its e-commerce service TikTok Shop. TikTok has 125 million users in Indonesia.
A TikTok Indonesia spokesperson was not available to comment.
Tokopedia declined to comment. A representative for Bukalapak said the company was unaware of such talks. Blibli did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
TikTok and YouTube are considering joining Meta in applying for e-commerce licenses in Indonesia after Southeast Asia's largest economy banned online shopping on social media platforms, people familiar with the discussions have said.
The app, owned by Chinese technology giant Bytedance, was also pursuing talks with local e-commerce players, they added.
Teten, one of the staunchest critics of TikTok Shop prior to the ban, said he has been tasked by President Joko Widodo to formulate rules on e-commerce.
He plans to meet TikTok Chief Executive Shou Zi Chew later this month.
"I want them to commit to have a sustainable business that does not harm domestic SME products," he said.
Teten also said he has proposed further regulations for the flow of imported goods into the country but did not provide details.
Until it stopped operations, TikTok Shop was delivering about 3 million parcels a day in Indonesia, sources have said.
Indonesia's e-commerce market is expected to grow to around $160 billion by 2030 from $62 billion this year, according to a report on Southeast Asia's internet economy by Google, Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings and consultancy Bain & Co.
Other major e-commerce players in Indonesia include SEA's Shopee and Alibaba's Lazada.

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North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
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North Korean Charged in Cyberattacks on US Hospitals, NASA and Military Bases

A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP
A man who allegedly carried out cybercrimes for a North Korean military intelligence agency has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack hospitals and health care providers in several US states. - The AP

A North Korean military intelligence operative has been indicted in a conspiracy to hack into American health care providers, NASA, US military bases and international entities, stealing sensitive information and installing ransomware to fund more attacks, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.

The indictment of Rim Jong Hyok by a grand jury in Kansas City, Kansas, accuses him of laundering the money through a Chinese bank and then using it to buy computer servers and fund more cyberattacks on defense, technology and government entities around the world.

The hacks on American hospitals and other health care providers disrupted the treatment of patients, officials said. He's accused of targeting 17 entities across 11 US states, including NASA and US military bases, as well as defense and energy companies in China, Taiwan and South Korea, according to The AP.

For more than three months, Rim and other members of the Andariel Unit of North Korea's Reconnaissance General Bureau had access to NASA’s computer system, extracting over 17 gigabytes of unclassified data, the indictment says. They also reached inside computer systems for defense companies in Michigan and California, as well as Randolph Air Force base in Texas and Robins Air Force base in Georgia, authorities say.

The malware enabled the state-sponsored Andariel group to send stolen information to North Korean military intelligence, furthering the country’s military and nuclear aspirations, federal prosecutors said. They've gone after details of fighter aircraft, missile defense systems, satellite communications and radar systems, a senior FBI official said.

“While North Korea uses these types of cyber crimes to circumvent international sanctions and fund its political and military ambitions, the impact of these wanton acts have a direct impact on the citizens of Kansas,” said Stephen A. Cyrus, an FBI agent based in Kansas City.

Online court records do not list an attorney for Rim, who has lived in North Korea and worked at the military intelligence agency’s offices in both Pyongyang and Sinuiju, according to court records. A reward of up to $10 million has been offered for information that could lead to him or other foreign government operatives who target critical US infrastructure.

The Justice Department has prosecuted multiple cases related to North Korean hacking, often alleging a profit-driven motive that sets the nation's cybercriminals apart from hackers in Russia and China. In 2021, for instance, the department charged three North Korean computer programmers in a broad range of hacks including a destructive attack targeting an American movie studio and the attempted theft and extortion of more than $1.3 billion from banks and companies around the world.

In this case, the FBI was alerted by a Kansas medical center that was hit in May 2021. Hackers had encrypted its files and servers, blocking access to patient files, laboratory test results and computers needed to operate hospital equipment. A Colorado health care provider was affected by the same Maui ransomware variant.

A ransom note sent to the Kansas hospital demanded Bitcoin payments valued then at about $100,000, to be sent to a cryptocurrency address.

“Otherwise all of your files will be posted in the Internet which may lead you to loss of reputation and cause the troubles for your business,” the note reads. “Please do not waste your time! You have 48 hours only! After that the Main server will double your price.”

Federal investigators said they traced blockchains to follow the money: An unnamed co-conspirator transferred the Bitcoin to a virtual currency address belonging to two Hong Kong residents before it was converted into Chinese currency and transferred to a Chinese bank. The money was then accessed from an ATM in China next to the Sino-Korean Friendship Bridge connecting China and North Korea, according to court records.

In 2022, the Justice Department said the FBI seized approximately $500,000 in ransom payments from the money laundering accounts, including the entire ransom payment from the hospital.

An arrest of Rim is unlikely, so the biggest outcome of the indictment is that it may lead to sanctions that could cripple the ability of North Korea to collect ransoms this way, which could in turn remove the motivation to conduct cyber attacks on entities like hospitals in the future, according to Allan Liska, an analyst with the cybersecurity firm Recorded Future.

“Now, unfortunately, that will force them to do more cryptocurrency theft. So it’s not going to stop their activity. But the hope is that we won’t have hospitals disrupted by ransomware attacks because they’ll know that they can’t get paid,” Liska said.

He also noted that a Chinese entity was among the victims and questioned what the country, which is an ally of North Korea, thinks of being targeted.

“China can’t be too thrilled about that,” he said.