Two buildings belonging to the Hyundai Group in Seoul, South Korea, were evacuated on Friday following a bomb threat that involved a ransom demand of 13 Bitcoin, equivalent to approximately $1.1 million. The incident unfolded when an anonymous caller contacted local police, outlining a plot to detonate explosives unless their demand was met. The caller specifically threatened to blow up the Hyundai buildings at 11:30 a.m. and also indicated plans to detonate a bomb in the Yangjae-dong area.
Prompted by the seriousness of the threat, authorities swiftly evacuated the designated buildings and conducted thorough searches with the assistance of special forces. Fortunately, no explosives were discovered during the searches. Despite the immediate tension, the situation concluded without incident.
This bomb threat against Hyundai is part of a troubling trend that has seen multiple threats targeting South Korean companies in the past week. Reports indicate that on Thursday, bomb threats were directed at Samsung Electronics, while a Korean telecom company received similar threats on Wednesday. However, it remains unclear whether any of these prior incidents also involved demands for Bitcoin.
Historical context reveals that this is not the first time a bomb threat has been linked to a Bitcoin ransom. A similar case occurred in Japan in 2020, where an attacker threatened various institutions, demanding 40 Bitcoin. This trend seems to resonate with earlier incidents in 2018 that garnered attention from U.S. cybersecurity officials due to global bomb threats that also called for Bitcoin payments.
The rise in such criminal activities underscores a worrying trend that coincides with the increasing values of cryptocurrencies. Incidents of physical coercion, commonly referred to as “wrench attacks,” have surged, with over 65 documented cases tracked by Casa CTO Jameson Lopp. High-profile violent events related to crypto have also been reported; for instance, a man in St. Petersburg detonated airsoft grenades at a crypto exchange last November, while in San Francisco, a delivery driver impersonator tied up a homeowner during a crypto theft worth $11 million.
Earlier this month, Austrian authorities apprehended two suspects accused of brutally attacking a young man over cryptocurrency-related issues. The victim was reportedly beaten and set ablaze while trapped in the backseat of a car, with police suggesting greed for crypto withdrawals as a potential motive.
This series of events highlights the increasing intersection of crime and cryptocurrency, raising serious concerns about security and safety in the digital financial landscape.
