TRM Labs reported that between January and August 18th of this year, North Korean-linked hackers had stolen crypto assets worth around $200 million, which translates to more than 20% of total crypto theft for the year. Chainalysis, a crypto research organization, stated that most experts believe these purloined funds are being used to finance the country's nuclear weapons programs. Since North Korea is subject to a range of U.N. sanctions, the aim being to stop the government from obtaining the necessary resources to back its atomic weapons initiatives.
Hackers with ties to North Korea have taken hundreds of millions of dollars worth of cryptocurrency to finance the country's nuclear weapons development endeavors, recent research has indicated. From January to Aug. 18 of this year, the North Korean associated hackers have stolen around $200 million in crypto - constituting more than 20% of all crypto stolen during this time period, according to an analysis by the blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. In a conversation with North Korea analysts in June, TRM Labs commented that in recent years, there had been a notable surge in cyber crimes against cryptocurrency businesses committed by North Korea, and this shift had aligned with the country's efforts to accelerate the deployment of their ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons projects. During this same discussion, the intelligence firm suggested that North Korea may now be opting to use cybercrime in order to support their weapons proliferation activities, which have been moving away from their customary revenue-generating operations. Similarly, crypto research organization Chainalysis put forward a report in February which reported that “most experts agree the North Korean government is using these illicitly obtained funds to subsidize its nuclear weapons programs.” The Permanent Mission of North Korea to the United Nations in New York, which is the diplomatic delegation of the North Korean regime to the UN, did not issue a response to the inquiries posed by CNBC.
Since 2006, when North Korea conducted its first nuclear test, the United Nations has implemented several sanctions against the secretive DPRK government to keep them from acquiring money to fund their nuclear and missile programs. These sanctions include prohibitions on the transfer of financial services, minerals, metals, and weapons. Just last month, the FBI issued an alert declaring that hackers linked to North Korea were attempting to make $40 million from virtual currencies, and in January they emphasized that they were still attempting to stop North Korea's plan to use virtual currency for their ballistic missiles and Weapons of Mass Destruction.
"Nick Carlsen, intelligence analyst at blockchain analytics firm TRM Labs, advised CNBC that North Korea faces rigorous economic pressure due to international sanctions and desperately requires every dollar it can obtain. He added that stealing cryptocurrency is a much more effective way of acquiring funds, and although it may not be used to purchase components for the nuclear program directly, it can free up another dollar to support the North Korean regime and its activities."
Hackers linked to North Korea have been taking advantage of flaws in the crypto space by engaging in several tactics, such as phishing and supply chain breaches, as well as compromising private keys or seed phrases in infrastructure hacks, according to a report from TRM Labs. Chainalysis highlighted that 2022 saw the most crypto hacking to date, with a record-breaking $3.8 billion stolen from crypto businesses, much of which was attributed to North Korea-associated robbers.
In March of the previous year, U.S. government representatives alleged North Korean-affiliated hackers of pilfering an enormous sum of crypto assets, totaling more than $600 million, from Ronin Bridge in the famous blockchain game, Axie Infinity, utilizing stolen private keys — passwords that enable users to access and manage funds.The trespassers took advantage of what is called a blockchain "bridge," which permits users to move their digital assets from one crypto network to another.
In June, The Wall Street Journal reported that cybercriminals linked to North Korea had impersonated recruiters and deceived an engineer from blockchain gaming firm Sky Mavis into believing there was a job prospect available. Through a contaminated document, the hackers were able to gain access to the engineer's computer and later on steal more than $600 million in crypto tokens from Sky Mavis’s game, Axie Infinity.
Erin Plante, Vice President of Investigations at Chainalysis, told CNBC that the North Koreans are leveraging social engineering to get involved in the community. She claims that they build relationships and access systems. This led to the U.S. Treasury Office of Foreign Assets Control imposing sanctions on several individuals and entities for aiding these DPRK IT professionals in gaining overseas employment and smuggling funds back to North Korea. According to a press release, North Korean tech workers target employers in wealthier nations, relying on popular and specialized freelance projects, payment, and social media networks. Additionally, they employ virtual currency exchanges and trading platforms to receive payments for their work and to launder the funds back to North Korea.
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