New Report Reveals North Korean Hackers Have Stolen $3 Billion in Crypto Over the Last 6 Years
A recent report published by Recorded Future noted that hackers hailing from North Korea stole more than $3 billion in cryptocurrencies in 2022. The report noted that the hackers managed to steal a bigger amount in digital currencies in comparison to the total export revenue of the country in 2021. The cybersecurity firm from the US notes that hackers managed to siphon the amount since 2017.
Use of Stolen Funds in Military Projects
Furthermore, the report also suggests that more than half of the total amount was done last year. The report also indicates that the stolen funds value accounted for around half of the military expenses last year.
Security experts from the region have maintained that total spoils of the authoritarian state accounts for half its military’s annual budget. The report has alleged that hackers hailing from North Korea have stolen $1.7 billion in 2022.
North Korean Hackers Shifted their Attention to the DeFi Sector
The report has stated that the total amount of stolen funds is 10 times bigger than total value of North Korean exports in 2021 valued at $182 million. Furthermore, the firm notes that North Korean hackers targeted South Korea for conducting crypto heists.
Later, the hackers directed expanded their operations to rest of the regions and countries. North Korean hackers also shifted their attention from TradeFi products to DeFi sector.
On this account, initial attacks were launched in the South Korean crypto industry before moving on to other jurisdictions. At the same time, the autocratic regime of North Korea also backs hackers leading to significant increment in their operational capacity.
The report further declared that state backed hackers were able to increase their area of activity far beyond privately run hacking groups. Office of Foreign Assets Control brought sanctions against digital currency mixer Sinbad linking the firm with notorious North Korean group identified as Lazarus.
United Nations Report
On this incident, the United Nations has published a report claiming that hackers have become more sophisticated in 2022 in comparison to previous years. Therefore, it was becoming more difficult for the authorities to track down stolen funds.
Chainalysis report further stated that various cybercrime syndicates have become one of the fastest-growing hacking groups during the last few years.
At the same time, Chainalysis noted that North Korean hackers use mixers such as Tornado Cash and Sinbad at a higher rate in comparison to other illegal actors. The UN report was also presented to 15 members of the North Korean sanction committee members and UN Security Council Committee.
As per this report, hackers hailing from this group accounted for $630 million to $1 billion in stolen cryptocurrencies. The report also claimed that hackers employed sophisticated techniques to intercept digital payment networks and extract sensitive information such as national weapons program.
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