North Korea and cryptocurrency: Hackers extract $400 million in a year

Cryptocurrency worth $400 million was stolen by North Korean hackers in 2021, a new research has revealed. “At least seven attacks on cryptocurrency” were launched from the country.

The new research, conducted by a crypto-based software company Chainalysis, said that the money collected from the hacks went to “North Korea’s WMD (Weapons of Mass Destructions) and ballistic missile programs”. The statement was made while citing the United Nations Security Council.

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According to reports from Newsweek, the company said that methods like code exploits, phishing lures and malware were used to “siphon funds out of these organizations’ internet-connected ‘hot’ wallets.” The process was followed by a “careful laundering process”, the report added.

The research conducted by Chainalysis also mentioned a “stolen fund stockpile” that has been not been laundered so far. The funds, which are worth nearly $170 million in cryptocurrency, were reportedly collected between 2017 and 2021 in dozens of separate attacks.

The company said that the unlaundered funds hint “DPRK-linked hackers are not always quick to move stolen cryptocurrencies through the laundering process”, according to reports from Newsweek.

Lazarus Group, which is known to be a cybercrime organisation and believed to be based in North Korea, was blamed for multiple attacks by the company. United States reportedly sanctioned the Lazarus Group for the 2017 ransomware attacks.

In February 2021, the United States said North Korean computer experts went on a hacking spree with the aim of cryptocurrency, which was reportedly valued at $1.3 billion.

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United States Department of Justice said that the cyberattacks impacted multiple businesses ranging from movie studios to banks, according to reports from BBC.

“From 2020 to 2021, the number of North Korean-linked hacks jumped from four to seven, and the value extracted from these hacks grew by 40%”, the research from Chainalysis said.