A confidential United Nations report has revealed that North Korean hackers stole more crypto assets in 2022 than in any other year.
The UN report, seen by Reuters, was presented last week to a North Korean sanctions committee. made up of 15 members.
Found that Hackers linked to North Korea were responsible for between $630 million and more than $1 billion in stolen crypto assets last year after attacking the networks of foreign aerospace and defense companies.
The UN report also noted that Cyberattacks were more sophisticated than in years past, making it harder than ever to trace stolen funds.
“North Korea used increasingly sophisticated cyber techniques to access digital networks involved in cyber finance and to steal information of potential value, including for its weapons programs,” the independent sanctions monitor said. in his report to the UN Security Council Committee.
Last week, a February 1 report from blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reached a similar conclusion, linking North Korean hackers to at least $1.7 billion in stolen cryptocurrency in 2022, making it the worst year ever for cryptocurrency hacks.
The firm named cybercriminal syndicates the “most prolific cryptocurrency hackers in recent years.”
“To contextualize, North Korea’s total exports in 2020 amounted to $142 million worth of goods, so it’s no exaggeration to say that cryptocurrency hacking is a sizeable part of the nation’s economy,” Chainalysis said.
According to Chainalysis, At least $1.1 billion of the stolen loot came from hacks of decentralized financial protocols, making North Korea one of the driving forces behind the DeFi hack trend, which intensifies in 2022.
The firm also discovered that North Korea-linked hackers tend to send large sums to mixers like Tornado Cash and Sinbad.
“In fact, Funds from hacks carried out by hackers linked to North Korea pass through the mixers at a much higher rate than funds stolen by other individuals or groups,” Chainalysis said.
North Korea has frequently denied accusations that it is responsible for cyberattacks, but The new UN report claims that North Korea’s main intelligence office, the General Reconnaissance Office, uses various groups such as Kimsuky, Lazarus Group and Andariel specifically for cyberattacks.
“These actors continued to unlawfully target victims to generate revenue and solicit information of value to the DPRK, including its weapons programs,” states the UN report.
The full report, presented last week to the Council’s 15-member North Korea Sanctions Committee, will be released later this month or in early March.
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