North Korean Hackers Steal $ 400 Million In Crypto Last Year: Report | Crypto

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An analytics company claims North Korea-related hacks have fallen from four in 2020 to seven in 2021.

North Korea has launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms that mined nearly $ 400 million in digital assets last year, one of its most successful years on record, has blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis said in a new report.

From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korea-related hacks increased from four to seven, and the value extracted from those hacks increased by 40%, according to the report released Thursday.

Once North Korea obtained custody of the funds, it began a thorough laundering process to cover and cash it, the report added.

A United Nations panel of experts monitoring sanctions against North Korea has accused Pyongyang of using stolen funds to support its nuclear and ballistic missile programs to circumvent sanctions.

North Korea is not responding to media inquiries, but has already issued statements denying the hacking allegations.

Last year, the United States accused three North Korean computer programmers working for the country’s intelligence service with a massive hacking campaign aimed at stealing more than $ 1.3 billion in cash and crypto. -currency, affecting businesses from banks to Hollywood movie studios.

Chainalysis did not identify all the targets of the hacks, but said they were mostly central investment and exchange companies, including Liquid.com, which announced in August that an unauthorized user had had access to some of the cryptocurrency wallets he managed.

Attackers used phishing lures, code exploits, malware and advanced social engineering to siphon funds from these organizations, hot internet-connected wallets, to addresses controlled by North Korea, according to the report. .

Careful plan

Most of the attacks last year were likely carried out by the Lazarus Group, a US-sanctioned hacking group, which says it is controlled by the Reconnaissance General Bureau, Korea’s main intelligence office. North.

The group has been accused of being involved in the WannaCry ransomware attacks, hacking into international banks and accounts receivable, and the 2014 cyberattacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

North Korea has also appeared to step up efforts to launder stolen cryptocurrencies, dramatically increasing its use of mixers or software tools that aggregate and scramble cryptocurrencies from thousands of addresses, Chainalysis said.

The report says researchers identified $ 170 million in old, unbleached cryptocurrency holdings from 49 separate hacks spanning 2017 to 2021.

The report says it’s not clear why hackers would still be sitting on those funds, but said they might hope to outsmart law enforcement interests before cashing in.

Whatever the reason, the length of time that (North Korea) is willing to hold onto these funds is illuminating, as it suggests a cautious plan, not a desperate and hasty plan, Chainalysis concluded.

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