North Korea Stole $1B+ in Crypto in 2022: UN Report
• A United Nations report revealed that North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than in any other year.
• The UN report noted that cyber attacks were more sophisticated than before, making tracing stolen funds difficult.
• Chainalysis’s Feb. 1 report linked North Korean hackers to at least $1.7 billion worth of stolen crypto in 2022.
North Korea Steals More Crypto In 2022
A United Nations (UN) report has revealed that North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than any other year. The UN report was submitted to a 15-member North Korea sanctions committee last week and found that between $630 million and more than $1 billion was stolen due to the sophistication of the cyber attacks.
Cyber Attacks Become More Sophisticated
The UN report noted that cyber attacks have become increasingly sophisticated, making tracing stolen funds much harder than previously thought possible. The independent sanctions monitors stated that “[North Korea] used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques both to gain access to digital networks involved in cyber finance, and to steal information of potential value, including to its weapons programmes” when submitting their findings to the UN Security Council Committee.
Chainalysis Findings
A Feb. 1st 2021 Chainalysis blockchain analytics firm report came to a similar conclusion linking North Korean hackers with at least $1.7 billion worth of stolen crypto assets in 2022 alone, surpassing any other year for successful hacking attempts by these criminals from the region.
Cybercriminal Syndicates
Chainalysis identified several cybercriminal syndicates as being responsible for the majority of all cryptocurrency hacks over the past few years; many of which are considered connected with or part of North Korea’s operations online and off it as well..
Conclusion
These two reports make it clear how prolific these criminal operations have become over time and how much money they are able to accumulate through their malicious activities online; outstripping even what is considered normal exports from this region by a significant margin according to 2020 figures ($142 million).
