By Jennifer Korn, CNN Business
North Korean hackers stole nearly $400 million worth of cryptocurrency in 2021, making it one of the most lucrative years yet for cybercriminals in the severely isolated country, according to a new report.
Hackers launched at least seven different attacks last year, primarily targeting investment firms and centralized exchanges with a variety of tactics, including phishing, malware and social engineering, according to the report by Chainalysis, a company that tracks cryptocurrency. The cybercriminals worked to gain access to the organizations' "hot" wallets (digital wallets that are connected to the Internet) and then transfer funds to accounts controlled by the DPRK.
The thefts are the latest sign that the heavily sanctioned country continues to rely on a network of hackers to help fund its domestic programs. A confidential United Nations report previously charged North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's regime of conducting "operations against financial institutions and virtual currency exchanges" to pay for weapons and keep North Korea's economy afloat.
Last February, the US Department of Justice. charged three North Koreans for conspiring to steal more than $1.3 billion from banks and businesses around the world and orchestrating digital cryptocurrency heists.
"North Korea is, in most respects, isolated from the global financial system by a long campaign of sanctions by the United States and its foreign partners." Nick Carlsen said, analyst at blockchain intelligence firm TRM Labs. โAs a result, they took to the digital battlefield to steal cryptocurrencies, essentially, [a] bank robbery at the speed of the Internet, to finance weapons programs, nuclear proliferation, and other destabilizing activities.โ
North Korea's hacking efforts have benefited from the rising value of cryptocurrencies. The rise in prices and usage of cryptocurrencies has generally made digital assets more and more attractive to malicious actors, leading to more blockbuster crypto heists in 2021.
According to Chainalysis, most of the thefts in the past year were carried out by the Lazarus Group, a hacking group with ties to North Korea that has previously been linked to Sony Pictures hackamong other incidents. The group has been hit with US sanctions.
There is practically little the United States or other countries can do to combat North Korea's crypto hacking activities, other than sanctions and defensive cybersecurity measures, as criminals face no real chance of extradition.
As the cryptocurrency market becomes more popular, โwe are likely to see continued interest from North Korea in targeting cryptocurrency companies that are young and developing cyber defenses and anti-money laundering controls,โ Carlson said.
The CNN Wire
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