DPRK stole an estimated $1 billion in crypto in 2022

According to a report from Thursday, April 6, hackers from North Koran stole as much as $1 billion in cryptocurrencies and other digital assets in 2022. The United Nations estimates the number to more than double compared to the data for 2021 and warns member states to implement guidelines from the Financial Action Task Force against money laundering.

North Korea reportedly stole up to $1 billion in crypto last year

According to a recent UN report, North Korean hackers have stepped up their game and managed to steal more than twice as much cryptocurrency as in 2021. The DPRK is estimated to have taken between $630 million and $1 billion throughout the year using “sophisticated cyber techniques both for to gain access to digital networks involved in cyberfinance and to steal information of potential value”.

The report also notes that the most sanctioned country in the world is likely to have supplied weapons of war to Russia to help in the war in Ukraine, and the Hermit Kingdom’s leaders have previously expressed their willingness to send soldiers into the war zone. The UN also warned that countries should follow the Financial Action Task Force’s anti-money laundering guidelines to help end the DPRK’s cybercrime activities.

Earlier on Thursday, the US Treasury Department published a report titled “2023 DeFi Illicit Finance Risk Assessment”. The document pays particular attention to money laundering and ransom attacks found in the decentralized financial ecosystem. It also in many ways mirrored the UN report, pointing to the fact that North Korea is among the most prolific parties in using DeFi to launder stolen assets.

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The long history of DPRK hackers and digital assets

North Korea’s rather impressive cybercrime record for 2022 is relatively unsurprising considering that the country has been a thorn in the side of decentralized finance for years. The hermit kingdom has been behind a number of attacks of all kinds, both with the aim of directly stealing assets and obtaining sensitive information using sometimes creative and unconventional methods such as opening fake Linkedin profiles for phish.

Perhaps the biggest controversy to arise from the DPRK’s activities came last summer when the US government sanctioned cryptocurrency mixer Tornado Cash over alleged links to the North Korean Lazarus Group. The move has been controversial as many, notably Coin Center, argue that Tornado Cash, being a piece of software and not a centralized entity, cannot be sanctioned under the existing legal framework.

Numerous companies with digital assets, both well-known and obscure, were compromised due to North Korean and other criminal groups. Last year, Kraken was forced to settle with the US government over allegations that it processed transactions used to avoid sanctions against countries such as the DPRK. Recently, a CFTC complaint accused Binance of enabling money laundering on the exchange.

Do you think North Korea will double its cybercrime revenue in 2023 compared to 2022? Let us know in the comments below.

About the author

Tim Fries is the co-founder of The Tokenist. He has a B. Sc. in mechanical engineering from the University of Michigan, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Tim served as a Senior Associate in the investment team at RW Baird’s US Private Equity division and is also a co-founder of Protective Technologies Capital, an investment firm specializing in sensing, protection and control solutions.