North Korea steals funds to fund weapons program through cyber-attack on cryptocurrency exchanges: UN report
North Korea has continued to develop its nuclear and ballistic missile programs over the past year, and cyberattacks on cryptocurrency exchanges appear to have become a significant source of revenue for the country, citing excerpts from a UN report by cybersecurity professionals. Investigators found that from 2020 to mid-2021, cyberattacks stole digital assets worth more than $50 million (approximately Rs 373.5 crore) from at least three cryp
tocurrency exchanges in North America, Europe and Asia.
The report was presented to the UN Security Council North Korea sanctions committee last week by the independent sanctions monitor, but was reviewed by Reuters. The classified report said North Korea’s test and demonstration of new short- and possibly medium-range missiles in January had “significantly accelerated”, “combining ballistic and guidance technologies, and using both solid and liquid propellants” — all of which It is mainly from cyber attacks, of which cryptocurrency exchanges are also a key target.
The report also refers to estimates provided by blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis in its latest crypto crime report, which states that North Korea has launched at least seven attacks on cryptocurrency platforms in 2021, extorting nearly $400 million worth ( approximately 29.9 billion rupees) of digital assets.
“These attacks have primarily targeted investment firms and centralized exchanges,” the firm explained in an excerpt from its 2022 Crypto Crime Report. Chainalysis added that the hackers “used phishing lures, code vulnerabilities, malware and advanced social engineering” to move funds from the company’s hot wallet to addresses controlled by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), detailing that South Korea Having obtained custody of the funds, they began a careful money-laundering process to cover up and cash out. “
“Only 20% of the stolen funds were in bitcoin…and for the first time ever, ether accounted for the majority of the stolen funds at 58%,” Chainalysis noted.
“More than 65% of North Korea’s stolen funds this year were laundered through mixers [2021], up from 42% in 2020 and 21% in 2019, suggesting that these threat actors are taking a more cautious approach each year,” the company concluded.
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