In 2023, Kim Jong Un‘s North Korea-linked hackers targeted a record number of cryptocurrency platforms, stealing over $1 billion in assets, according to a recent report.
What Happened: The blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis reported that North Korea-affiliated hackers attacked 20 cryptocurrency platforms in 2023, the highest number recorded from 2016 to 2023, CNBC reported. The hackers stole slightly over $1 billion worth of crypto assets, a decrease from the $1.7 billion stolen in 2022.
"North Korea-linked hacks have been on the rise over the past few years, with cyber-espionage groups such as Kimsuky and Lazarus Group utilizing various malicious tactics to acquire large amounts of crypto assets," said Chainalysis on Wednesday.
In September, the FBI confirmed that North Korea’s Lazarus Group was responsible for the theft of about $41 million in crypto assets from online casino and betting platform Stake.com.
On Nov. 29, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned Sinbad.io, a virtual currency mixer that is a key money-laundering tool for Lazarus Group. Previous research has shown that North Korea-affiliated hackers stole hundreds of millions of crypto to fund the regime’s nuclear weapons programs.
Why It Matters: The recent surge in North Korea’s crypto hacking activities is part of a larger trend. Earlier, a report by TRM Labs revealed that in 2023, hackers associated with the Democratic People's Republic of North Korea (DPRK) looted more than $600 million worth of crypto assets. This was despite a 30% reduction from their $850 million haul in 2022.
Singapore’s National Intelligence Service (NIS) also reported that North Korean hackers had illicitly acquired over $180 million in cryptocurrency in the first half of 2023.
Meanwhile, South Korea's intelligence agency recently issued an alert about Kim’s potential plans to disrupt the forthcoming U.S. and South Korean elections with North Korean military and cyber attacks.
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