North Korean hackers have stolen over $1 billion in crypto so far: Report
While the global crypto market has continued to grow in adoption, infiltration by bad actors has seemed inevitable. One of the prominent ones, which are the North Korean hackers, are now said to have stolen over $1 billion from the crypto industry.
According to an annual report by the US National Security Council, North Korean hackers have stolen between $630 million and more than $1 billion in virtual assets – a sum that is double the amount stolen in 2021.
Preying on the crypto market
With North Korean hackers preying on the crypto market while taking advantage of every loophole discovered, the report noted, these bad actors carry out these crypto crimes via advanced scopes and techniques.
The panel stated i report:
The country used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyber finance and to steal information of potential value, including its weapons programs.
Although crypto hacks can sometimes be traced depending on how careful or the prints the hackers left behind, the basic features of cryptocurrency and blockchain make it more difficult to trace, according to the report.
Related reading: North Korean hacker attempts to phish Euler Finance Exploiter via encrypted message
“Illegally obtained virtual assets are protected by both the anonymity of the blockchain and the intentional obfuscation of the passage of assets through cryptocurrency exchanges,” the report added.
Total Crypto Hack Stolen In Crypto By North Korean Hackers. | Source: Chainalysis
At the end of the note, the report urged member states to follow Financial Action Task Force anti-money laundering guidelines to curb the rising value of stolen funds in crypto.
Interestingly, the panel further revealed that the funds North Korea stole from the crypto industry can be used to obtain weapons of mass destruction. The panel said an investigation related to the apparent export of military communications equipment to Russia is currently ongoing.
Meanwhile, North Korea has continued to deny all allegations of wrongdoing, and as such, the sanctions it receives have continued to pile up.
North Korea Recent Hack
Unsurprisingly, in the last four months since the year started, North Korea has managed to hit the headlines especially with their prominent group called ‘Lazarus’. From the end of March, the same group was allegedly behind the Euler Finance hack.
Related reading: DeFi remains the target: Hackers stole over $20 million in February
As the record of hacks rooted in North Korea continues to rise, the United Nations has made efforts to sanction Ethereum (ETH) addresses linked to the region’s hacker. Meanwhile, in February, both Binance and Huobi seized $1.4 million in crypto assets related to June 2022 Harmony Bridge exploitation.
Regardless of the various news circulating in the industry, the global crypto market has remained calm. Over the past 24 hours, the global crypto market capitalization has risen by just 0.2%, at the time of writing, with a value still above $1.2 trillion.
Featured image from Shutterstock, chart from TradingView
