Spy Agency Claims North Korea Stole $1.2 Billion in Crypto

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Are you missing a crypto? Chances are North Korea took it. Illustration: BeeBright (Shutterstock)

South Korea’s top spy agency revealed on Thursday that state-sponsored North Korean hackers stole $1.2 billion in cryptocurrency and other digital assets from targets around the world in the past five years. years.

The National Intelligence Service said more than half of stolen assets, or about $626 million, were taken in 2022 alone, the Associated Press reported. Of the total amount stolen this year, more than $78 million came from South Korea. The spy agency expects North Korea to step up its cyberattacks on South Korea in 2023 and focus on stealing advanced technologies related to nuclear power plants, chips and the defense industry .

Marking the third year of its five-year plan for economic development in 2023, the North should be determined to steal key technologies and collect diplomatic and security intelligence in an effort to achieve its political goals, the National Intelligence Service said, according to the Yonhap news agency.

Additionally, North Korea is likely to continue to engage in cryptocurrency theft. North Korean hackers are considered among the best in the world at stealing cryptocurrencies and digital assets, the National Intelligence Service explained. Digital thieves honed their skills after the United Nations tightened economic sanctions in 2017, which banned North Korean exports, including coal, textiles and seafood, in response to nuclear weapons testing and missiles of the country.

UN sanctions have prompted North Korea to focus on cyber crimes. According to American and international experts, the country uses up to a third of the stolen funds to finance its missile program. North Korea is considered one of the top national cyber threats in the world along with China, Russia and Iran.

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By November this year, North Korea had conducted 34 weapons tests involving around 88 ballistic and cruise missiles. In November, the country tested two intercontinental ballistic missiles, which experts say can strike anywhere in the United States.

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