Cryptocurrency stolen by North Korea-linked hackers is down a whopping 80% from 2022 — however a blockchain forensics agency says it isn’t essentially an indication of progress.
As of Sept. 14, 2023, North Korea-linked hackers have stolen a complete of $340.4 million value of cryptocurrency, down from a report $1.65 billion reported funds stolen in 2022.
“The fact that this year’s numbers are down is not necessarily an indicator of improved security or reduced criminal activity,” Chainalysis stated in a Sept. 14 report. “We must remember that 2022 set a dismally high benchmark.”
“In reality, we are only one large hack away from crossing the billion-dollar threshold of stolen funds for 2023.”
Over the previous 10 days, North Korea’s Lazarus Group has been linked to 2 separate hacks — Stake ($40 million) on Sept. 4 and CoinEx ($55 million) on Sept. 12, combining for a lack of over $95 million.
With the latest two hacks, North Korea-linked assaults have made up for about 30% of all crypto funds stolen in hacks this 12 months, famous Chainalysis.
North Korea turns to doubtful exchanges, mixers
Meanwhile, Chainalysis has discovered that North Korean hackers have develop into more and more reliant on sure Russian-based exchanges to launder illicit funds over the previous couple of years.
The agency stated North Korea has been utilizing varied Russian-based exchanges since 2021. One of the biggest laundering occasions concerned $21.9 million in funds transferred from Harmony’s $100 million bridge hack on June 24, 2022.
United States-sanctioned cryptocurrency mixers Tornado Cash and Blender have additionally been utilized by Lazarus Group within the Harmony Bridge hack and different high-profile hacks dedicated by the group.
We’ve noticed situations of DPRK-linked hackers sending funds to Russian companies since 2021. But this 12 months’s switch of $21.9M stolen from Harmony to a high-risk Russian trade is an escalation of that exercise. You can see examples of a few of these transactions beneath. pic.twitter.com/S9cDxlk9Hu
— Chainalysis (@chainalysis) September 14, 2023
Related: FBI flags 6 Bitcoin wallets linked to North Korea, urges vigilance in crypto companies
The United Nations is making an effort to curtail North Korea’s cybercrime ways on the worldwide stage — as it’s understood North Korea is utilizing the stolen funds to help its nuclear missile program.
Meanwhile, the agency hopes elevated good contract audits will make life more durable for these hackers.
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