North Korea-based cybercriminals are making inroads into Japanese cryptocurrency reserves, pilfering an estimated $721 million since 2017, according to Nikkei Asia researchers.
This staggering amount represents 30% of total global cryptocurrency losses during this period.
These rogue activities are believed to be fueling North Korea's missile programs.
Elliptic, the organization behind the study commissioned by Nikkei, utilizes technology designed to track and trace blockchain money transfers.
The research identified businesses whose digital currency was funneled into e-wallets associated with the Lazarus Group, a notorious North Korean hacker syndicate.
Illicit Activities Rising On Global Stage
Finance ministers and central bank governors recently acknowledged the escalating threat posed by state actors, specifically mentioning cryptocurrency theft, in the context of North Korea's ongoing missile tests.
A UN Security Council report released earlier this year estimated that North Korea pilfered between $600 million and $1 billion in cryptocurrency in 2022, essentially doubling the previous year's loot.
Elliptic's estimate aligns closely with $640 million for the same period.
According to Elliptic, North Korea's cyberattacks primarily focus on hacking, specifically targeting cryptocurrency exchanges.
Given the uncertainty of ransomware attacks, a more direct approach to obtaining cryptocurrency assets via successful hacking attempts appears to be North Korea's strategy.
Between 2017 and 2022, North Korea allegedly managed to abscond with $2.3 billion in cryptocurrency from Japan, Vietnam, the U.S., and Hong Kong.
The speed at which cryptocurrency markets have expanded in Japan and Vietnam and their subsequent lack of stringent security measures have made them ideal targets for North Korean hackers.
Multiple Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges, including the now-defunct Zaif, are believed to have been compromised.
International sanctions have made it increasingly challenging for North Korea to acquire foreign currency, leading to a strategic shift towards cybercrime as a viable alternative.
North Korea's cybercriminal activities, which expanded beyond hacking to include data theft in defense and healthcare sectors, first came to the fore in 2014.
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Image by Mohamed Hassan from Pixabay
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